


The Tale of Ori, the Spirit of the Forest

by Layuzed



Category: Ori and the Blind Forest
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon Rewrite, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hardships, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, long story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 146,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25426333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Layuzed/pseuds/Layuzed
Summary: This is the story of both games retold by me, I changed many aspects from how the game originally was, creating more space and elements to interact with world and characters. The main storytelling image is mostly like what we know. Kinda.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> This fanfic is some kind of tribute of mine to the game. I felt like writing this awesome story after finishing my experience.
> 
> This fanfic also has a collaboration with the Seven Forests Fanon. A huge thanks to DanaArt42 for making this possible.
> 
> Hope you like it!

With the heart beating in the center of her home, the Spirit Tree took care of all living beings for them to prosper.

The Spirit Tree produced spirits guardians, small beings of light that protect the forest from the decay and darkness. All spirits had similar characteristics, being them the most common: the white glowing fur, long ears, hoofs for feet, and black eyes with white pupils. Some could be taller than others with a variety of personalities, but all of them are the children of the forest.

Naru lived her life with her adopted son, a spirit of the forest in peace. He was born without knowing his purpose as a guardian.

Since the day she had found him, months had passed. He was now radiant with his light, fast and nimble. A loved and happy little spirit living the best life without knowing the dangers of the world. Everything was fine, Naru didn't do anything wrong.

It was another beautiful day in Nibel, Naru and her son went out to harvest fruits, it was time to feed. Naru took her son on her shoulders and visited each tree to harvest its fruits. One by one, they reached a river, and on the other side, large peach trees, in abundance ready for anyone. Naru and her son prepare to cross the river, together they build a bridge. They worked hard during the day and had a lot of fun building it. Arriving at night, the bridge was complete, and they finally enjoyed a nice meal under the peach trees. Naru ate so fast that it was a surprise that she didn't choke, maybe she had a technique for not choking? The child was impressed by looking at his mother eating.

The little spirit had the idea of keeping the peaches in his house to eat later, he gathered several in his arms and walked home. Naru didn't even notice since she was so busy eating.

On the way back, lightning had lit the night skies, strangely it wasn't raining, there were no clouds, just stars. Strange energies were passing through the forest, it seemed like mists. Through the woods and branches of each tree, this mist was almost everywhere, it was looking for something. The spirit looked still for a while until the mist became aware of the child's presence, and it approached.

Scared by the unknown, the little one dropped the peaches and ran home and not back to Naru, the fog followed him, it looked like he was the target.

He was practically at the entrance to his house, a small cave where he and Naru lived, it was where he could feel safe. The energy seemed stronger with each step, increasingly bright, more familiar, the child felt that it might not be harmful, but he did not give the chance to know. Until one point, the child could clearly see, the source of this energy that passed through the forest, it was the Spirit Tree. It emanated this energy through the forest, it was looking for something, something that belonged to it, a child that was stolen from it in the storm of that night.

The child stopped mesmerized by the light of the great tree, the energy enveloped his body, lifting him in the air, it seemed to want to take him back. Back to his family. Naru arrives calling and takes her child inside their cave, Naru was concerned about what the tree wanted with her adopted son.

She already knew.

The child did not understand. After leaving the trance, he just followed his mother, as if nothing had happened. Naru denied the return of the child where it belonged. The energy had dissipated, the tree had ceased its search.

They remained together, yet Naru was still concerned

"I can't let you go." She sobs. "You are my gift, I can't let you go" Naru cried while hugging her child.

That day, she found him during the great storm, a white and shiny leaf passed before Naru and was carried by the winds. Intrigued, Naru followed the shiny leaf to where it landed, and from that leaf, the little spirit arose, she was enchanted with the beauty of the little creature, she felt blessed before a gift from heaven. Embracing his light, as a child of her own.

…

"Yet hope never came."

"When the forest was blind."

...

Through the passage of time, the forest withered and decayed, the trees lost their fruit, the animals were leaving their homes. Through the passage of time, Naru felt that she was paying for her sin, for stealing one of the children of the forest, a child of the great tree. There was no life to be found outside their cave, trees were dying, the waters were corrupted, the winds won't blow, the warmth was out of control. Food was missing for as long as they could remember.

The last fruit, the last peach was in Naru's hands. Analyzing the situation to look for more food, Naru does a search in her grove that was once so rich, and now a bark of its former being. For her surprise, there were fruits on the highest branch of a tree, Naru tried to make an effort to climb, but the tree was so fragile and its branches could not bear any weight. She fell from the tree several times until she was exhausted and defeated. She returns home and looks at the last peach, she hands it to her child who slept peacefully in his nest.

The child smells the fruit and wakes up, seeing the mother tired and hurt, he offers her the peach, she rejects it as any mother would do for her children. The little one feels he needs to do something, he gets up from his bed and goes to the tree that the mother tried to climb. With ease, he reaches the fruits and fills his arms, proud to give his mother the good news.

…

"Still hope showed its face"

...

Giving hope to his mother made his heart rejoice, memories were appearing before his eyes as he walked carefully through the forest. The day they built the bridge, it had been so much fun. When they could drink the waters of the rivers without worry. When he played piggyback ride with his mother around their nest. When they drew their little family on the walls of the cave with different colors and ways. Those were the best days, the nostalgia was almost suffocating.

Arriving home, the little one presents the fruits to the sleeping mother, he calls her:

"Mother! I managed to get more fruit for us! Look!" Said the child hopeful.

But Naru was still asleep.

"Mom? Wake up!" The son pleaded, bringing a peach closer to his mother.

"Mom! Mom! Please wake up!" He begged, shaking his mother,

But Naru did not wake up.

After countless tries, the child feared the worst.

"Mom..." He said one last time.

...

An orphan once more, with no reason to stay, the child leaves in search of light...

So small and so frail, he wandered through the forest alone, bearing the cold of the dark night.

His cries were met with silence, his hopes went astray. A path of thorns was all that awaited him, the spirit squeezes himself through the sharp thorns, searching for the light.

The child becomes very weak without food or any support. The darkness grew stronger, the fear of what could be lurking in it made him press forward, without ever looking back. His strength faltered, his vision blurred.

Each step became more and more difficult, aimlessly wandering in the withering darkness, until the child falls exhausted. Still, he crawls, without ever stopping,

He draws his last breath.

...

One white flower sprouts in front of the child's body, a small light hovered close by, it moved swiftly around the child and flew to the horizon, more and more white flowers appeared wherever it passed, illuminating the land. All the flowers light combined lifted the darkness, revealing the Spirit Tree.

"At last I found you, Ori. Your tale is not yet finished."

"With my last effort, a new age shall dawn."

The child is lifted into the air with a beam of light, he wakes up without hunger, cold, or fear. He was confused by what had happened, he doesn't remember much, but he remembered his mother and the great brightness of the Spirit Tree. He knew it was not a nightmare. even still, fear was coming back. Where to go now? Still lost even without the darkness.

The journey begins


	2. Sein

The little spirit had just woken from a sleep that seemed eternal, and suddenly everything is clear again.

What just happened? Was it a nightmare? No, it was much more than just a nightmare, it was real, yet ethereal.

"Ori? That's my name?" The spirit never knew, but in the voice of the great tree, he understood that he had a name.

Naru never named her son, Ori grew up without caring about being known as Naru's son. He never met many people, he always lived close to his mother in his nest without ever having gone further, making him not care what is the name itself.

Ori was well and healthy, but he did not know where to go. The darkness was expelled by daylight, but he was still as lost as he was in the darkness.

Ori looked at the path he had taken, the trail of white flowers and the big tree surrounding the horizon. The thorns that he had to squeeze through, where was his home... He did not dare to go back. All that was left was to move on, he ventured ahead in the unknown forest, the forest of Nibel.

Starting with the first steps, his agility was restored and ready to run marathons. Ori ran ahead, reaching the Sunken Glades.

Exploring the place a little, it wasn't very scary, there was a lot of flora covering the place with a purple atmosphere, it transmitted tranquility, there was nothing to fear. Ori faced a small hill, obstacles, platforms, and spikes were in the path and he knew he needed to avoid spikes, he jumped over them getting to the platform and reaching the top. Ori managed to climb a small hill that could be difficult without his agility. At the top, there was a path, but it was blocked. It seemed to be several fungi with thorns blocking the way, Ori didn't give it a chance to test whether it was harmful or not, he just walked away and went another way. Down the hill, there was a passage downwards, a considerably wide hole without much depth.

"What do we have around here?" Ori asked himself as he descended.

He came across more of those fungi, still avoided contact.

"It's everywhere, what are these purple balls anyway?"

The path was venomous and the water was the same color as those fungi, completely purple. There must have been a lot of them below the water, Ori just avoided the small lake by jumping on the floating trunks continuing ahead. Not knowing what to expect, he needed to trust that somewhere, he could find something, something that could save him from the fate he previously lived.

Ori came across a small cavern, looking inside it was a tunnel in a straight line, and there was light at the end of it, meaning a possible exit. He ran swiftly, dodging all fungi and other thorns on the way. A rock wall interrupts the spirit advance, it had many holes and wasn't too thick, looking to the exit through the holes, Ori wanted to find a way to proceed further, at that moment, he is surprised by an impact that made the cavern tremble, the sound came from behind and the spirit had company.

Ori turned around startled, and sees a small ram facing him, the ram made the tremble. It had a bone armor covering almost its entire body, purple stains could be seen all over it, what are those purple marks? Ori couldn't know at that moment, he stared on the beast and stood silent. Ori almost asked what the beast wanted, but in a way, it was clear as day what it wanted. The ram stomped the ground shaking its head warning the spirit that it will charge to kill.

The ram advances in Ori's direction, even scared Ori still moved away from the charging beast by pure instinct, the ram kept charging and slamming its armored head on the cavern's walls, every time sending a shockwave through the tunnel. Every wave would be a step closer to make the cavern crumble on both of them. Ori noticed something, he thought to use the ram's strength to break the thin wall. He positioned himself and taunted the beast, making the ram charge once again on the spirit, Ori dodges the charge, the ram breaks the wall apart, opening the path. Now the problem was the ram itself. Ori did not know how to get rid of it.

Luckily he did not need to. As the ram turned around to face Ori once more, it is surprised by an avalanche of rocks, crushing its armor. The ram screams in pain.

It didn't last long, the ram quickly stopped struggling.

In such sight and after the scream Ori runs to the pile of rocks, trying to move them from over the ram, but soon he realized it was too late. Blood was flowing under the pile and reaching Ori's hoofs, he knew it was too late, all he had left to do is push forward, just move forward. He leaves the ram and moves to the exit and realizes he got into a dead end. Still in the Sunken Glades, Ori felt frustrated thinking he wasted time. To his surprise, he notices something on the other side of the area. There was something, a small and blinking light. It drew attention, what could it be? Ori moved in to investigate.

A small sphere, blinking slightly, emanating a very faint and weak light. Ori decided to pick up the sphere to analyze it, upon holding it, he feels its energy to be fairly familiar, he felt it before. He tried to remember when exactly he felt this sensation.

While pondering, Ori noticed the sphere absorbing his light into itself, seemed like it was draining Ori's light to revive. Somehow, Ori doesn't feel any harm or evil intention coming from the mysterious orb, he lets it drain his light as much as it needs, the moment where the orb was charged finally arrived and it started to shine brighter, flying out of Ori's reach. The orb lets out a powerful flash and a voice could be heard.

"My strength returns, I am awakened once again"

The mysterious sphere spoke and glowed in a light blue tone, Ori observed it in silence, admiring its beauty.

"Thank you for restoring me, kind spirit. May I know your name?

Ori was still stunned.

"Kind spirit? Can you hear me?"

Ori snaps back

"I'm… I'm Ori"

The floating sphere circles Ori.

"Ah, finally I can meet you, my dear. Destiny brought you here to save me… Thank the light."

"Let me introduce myself: I am Sein, the eyes and light of the spirit tree. I am the wisp of Nibel"

Sein words were hard to comprehend, Ori felt odd while looking at the wisp.

"Your light… I remember you, you're the light in the big tree! It was your energy that night!"

"Yes, it was me. Listen, Ori, there is much I have to tell you. On that fateful night, I had lit the night skies, the Spirit Tree wanted you back and my objective was to search for you, as soon as I found you. I couldn't do it."

"Searching for me? But why-"

"Shh, did you hear that? They followed you."

"What?"

Screams and grunts emerged from the branches of the surrounding trees, many creatures surrounded Ori and Sein. They jumped instead of walking, they were creatures of the forest, victims of the decay.

"What are they? Monkeys? What do they want?"

"There is no time to explain Ori, I'll take care of the offensive, but I need you to take me closer to our enemies to attack"

"Take you closer ?! Are you crazy- "

One of the hoppers jumped on Ori, barely managing to dodge, he fell to the ground with the shock wave and another monkey jumped to kill. For an instant Sein floats in front of them and releases a beam of light on the monkey, burning him to dust. The other hoppers take a step back, realizing this isn't a simple easy prey

"On your feet! Or you will be killed here!" Sein shouted worried.

Ori was quiet, kneeling down and shaking. Scared once more about almost dying again

"You must have courage, Ori! Courage for your forest and your mother! Have the courage to fight for your home! Fight before everything is lost…"

Sein mentions Naru and Ori remembered the times he had with his adoptive mother. Sein words did some sort of impact on him, still scared and shaking, he stood up.

"We are in this together, wherever you go, I will follow you. Take the defensive, avoid their attacks and I'll blast them. Just approach so that I can reach, you don't need to attack, just stay alive. Can you do it?"

Dominated by fear he fought himself before answering Sein, He needed to remember hope, the spark that lifted the darkness, his mother…

...

"My son, if you find yourself in a pinch, promise me you'll run back to me, okay? Outrun the danger, you're so quick all the time, just run and nothing can ever hurt you".

...

With a shiver running down his spine he shouted.

"OF COURSE!" as he sprints around the hoppers, his speed made them hesitate when to jump. They couldn't get it right, they started to jump randomly trying to hit the spirit.

"Watch their patterns, do not let them hit you!"

It became easy to dodge, they were too slow to follow. Ori had this on his hands. Each missed jump was an opportunity for Sein. After there just one left, the remaining monkey retreated.

"The last one ran away Ori, he will come back later with more company.."

After their victory, Ori pauses to catch his breath, Sein hovers closer.

"Great job my savior, you saved us both"

Ori was conflicted.

"Why he wanted me back? Why is it wrong to live with my mother? Was it his doing to let the forest wither and let her die of hunger? Ori was overflowing with emotions. Sein didn't know how to answer.

"Ori, listen, we did not want Naru to die, she was an important ally when the spirit tree was but a sprout. We never wanted that fate to hit her or the other creatures."

"What do you know about her?!" Ori demanded to know.

"There is much I have to tell you, my dear, this is not the place to chat". Sounds of other animals could be heard nearby.

"There is a place I want to show you, where I can explain to you what happened to our forest, lets us go to the Spirit Tree"

Ori calmed down.

"I'll go, can you guide me?

"Certainly. Just remember Ori, we are now bound, wherever you go I will follow. For I cannot move as freely as you do, I must remain close to you, a source of light, otherwise I'll lose my energy and be unable to fly or use my light to defend us".

"I am a source of light?" Ori asks

Sein explains

"I am greatly weakened in my current state. When I was removed from my throne, I lost most of my powers, and I can't sustain myself away from my spirit tree, you are a spirit guardian Ori, you contain the light of the Spirit Tree naturally inside of you, the same light I need to sustain myself and to grant me the strength to fight."

"I am not going to feed on you or anything like that. I will just remain close, but that's enough talk. Let us move before more problems arrive. The shortest path to the Spirit Tree is through the spirit caverns which is close from here".

"All right, let's go"

Ori had a lot of thoughts running in his mind, while he is focused on not drawing attention from more animals, he at least is not alone anymore in the forest. This was the beginning of a grand friendship. They focus on a new objective, reaching the Spirit Tree. Ori would maybe discover his destiny, his purpose, and why the forest is not the same anymore.


	3. Her Misguided Tale

On their way back Ori stopped to look at the rocks covering the ram. Ori was sad because it was his fault.

"Is something bothering you, Ori? Asked Sein

"Yes... Under these rocks, was a creature that tried to kill me. It was pretty strong and crazy, it tried to crush me many times, I used its strength to break a thin wall and he died because of it"

"You're adorable, mourning the death of one creature that tried to kill you. Let me tell you something to warm your heart. Almost all creatures are suffering from the decay and are driven insane, they will kill anything in sight, except for themselves, but remember the words of the Spirit Tree I said earlier? Every living being has light, and once their time comes, they all return to the Spirit Tree to find peace, to be reborn, to complete the cycle and life can begin anew".

Ori turned to Sein, inspired.

"Really? The tree can do that?"

"Yes, it can. We make sure of it. By ending its suffering you did a good deed, the more corrupted animals we put to rest the more can be saved".

"That is great to hear! Say, Sein, what else do you know about the Spirit Tree?"

"I know many things, what do you wish to learn my dear?"

"Hm, how those trees are created? They are not a normal type of tree, how come?"

Sein pauses and analyzes the best answer.

"Is something wrong Sein?"

"No, its fine, just… Quite an intriguing question my dear. You see, the tree creates seeds like any other, but only one germinate and grows. That's why you only see one of them at a time".

"Interesting." Said Ori. "What about you, how are your kind created? And what are you exactly? Are you a girl?"

"I am a wisp, I am the very essence of this forest. There are many others like me scattered around the world, one for each forest, one for each Spirit Tree. Also, can't you see my gender by looking at me!?" Sein said pretty heated up.

"You are one rude little spirit, I can see your gender by just looking at you. You're a boy!"

"I think you're female, is that correct?" Ori asked.

"Honestly, there is no right answer." Sein answered. "Almost all creatures name wisps with female pronouns and I don't mind if you think I am female. Call me what you will."

"Oh, I see. And you got my gender right! How did you know?"

"You hold the characteristics of a male spirit. Simple as that."

Ori was impressed.

"And about my kind's birth, it is a secret" Sein said playfully hovering around Ori.

"Aw, you a meanie!" Ori was a bit let down.

They return to focus on their mission

"Okay, take the way back from where you came. The shortest path is through the spirit caverns, just up the hill. Also, do you see those fungi almost everywhere? I can clear them for you."

Ori remember the passage he couldn't go through

"Oh I see, you can open that path that was blocked earlier!"

Sein went up and down

"Did you just nod?" Ori asked stunned.

"Hm, maybe?" Sein confessed.

They both laugh

The path could be opened thanks to Sein, on their way the fungi were cleaned. They jumped over the lake, went up the little hill, and reached the blocked path. Sein blasted the fungi with ease, the way was clear and both proceeded until they were stopped by a closed gate.

"Look, Ori, this is a spirit gate, they were meant for protection, before the days of the decay. Now it blocks us."

"Protection? They don't seem to work"

"They won't. Their creations were somewhat unnecessary, a simple shut stone door can't stop a force of nature like the decay"

"Their creations?"

"The Gumon, a proud race that constructed many defensive mechanisms. They built this gate and many other things around Nibel. Unfortunately, they are now extinct.

"Extinct? What happened?"

"You will learn later my dear, for now, we must focus on reaching the Spirit Tree that lies beyond this gate."

Ori wanted to know more but agrees with Sein

"So, how can we open it?"

"We need to collect the shards to complete the gate, you see the holes in it? The shards will fit in that space and then open the path"

"Got it"

Ori found the shards laying close nearby, one under a passage behind a boulder, and the other hanging on a platform above the gate.

"There! We can go forth, to the spirit caverns!" bolstered Ori inserting the shards on the gate.

"What makes you so happy my dear?" Asked Sein while the gate opened.

"I don't know Sein, I got to know you and now I can explore the forest as well and I can't wait to hear your stories! It just feels good, and now we are going to meet the Spirit Tree, who is also my father. I can't wait for it"

It surprised Sein to see him so positive to meet his creator after the traumatic events he went through. What did Naru teach him? How could he be bearing all of this so easily? Only time would tell, and prayers to him never back down on the face of the dangers that await him.

They arrive at the spirit caverns.

"Woah, look at this place, I can feel so much energy flowing, but… It feels sad… Bitter…" Ori analyzed the atmosphere.

Sein remained in silence, she knows more than she would like.

The spirit caverns were a place many spirits used to travel. But now, it was empty as the forest withered. Only the flow of energies of the spirits that passed through here was left.

"Ori, follow me, there is something I wish to show you"

Sein flew in the caverns, going down.

"Hey Sein, do want me to go down there? How am I coming back up?

"Do not worry my dear, there is a way for everything, come, you must follow me right now."

A bit reluctant, Ori obeyed and jumped down. After reaching the bottom, there was just a single corridor and a bright light at the end of it.

"Sein, what's that?" Ori asked intrigued.

"Come, you must see this closer"

As they approached the light, it gained the form of a small tree.

Sein reaches the ancestral tree.

"Ori, my dear. On the day we called to you, the Spirit Tree was preparing to do what we call the Ceremony of Light, all children of the forest must attend as the tree demands. As you were far away, I had to tend and bring you back, but... The moment I found you, I couldn't do it…"

"Because of my mother…?"

"Naru would understand. She was more intelligent than we imagine, she knows more about the Spirit Tree than you realize. But that wasn't the case, it was because we were attacked by a dark owl, named Kuro. On that fateful night, many spirits were slain, and many took refuge in here to heal years ago. In this tree, resides the light of Fil, a spirit that loved the wonders of climbing."

Ori stood quiet, listening to Sein

"He could climb any surface, his expertise gave him his prowess. This is his resting place, after the attack of Kuro, he held on to hope, he gave his body to the earth so his legacy could continue in the shoulders of another. Come now, and feel his light."

Ori gathered his thoughts

"Kuro? A dark owl? Did she attack you and the tree? Is that why the forest began to decay…? Why? Why would she do it?

"I do not know my dear, I fear the power of the light in that day angered her. Forgive me, but all other spirits are missing or dead by now, you are the only one that was out of her onslaught, you are the only one that found me, and thus the only one that can save Nibel.

The good mood Ori felt moments before is completely gone, sorrow for his kind entered his mind gripping his every thought.

"Ori, we can repair the damage. Kuro is still out there, and we know little about her, but together, we can save our home. Their memories will forever live on in our hearts, so please, do not give in to despair, much will be asked of you. You are my last hope" Sein lamented as she remembered that night.

Ori was also crying, but without losing his posture, reluctant, he creates strength to attend to Sein's request.

"This is too sad Sein, why they had to suffer so much? I can't stop thinking this is all my fault… This is not fair!"

"I know, we're in this together. Now come, there is still much for you to learn"

With Sein's words, Ori cleaned his tears and walked to the little tree, Fil's resting place. Upon touching the tree's trunk, he heard his voice.

"Ah, I finally got to meet you!"

"Who said that?!" Ori said in shock, stepping back from the tree.

"Don't be scared, it is I, Fil."

Fil appears in front of his tree, he looked much older than Ori, with a long beard and a crutch to aid him walking.

"Fil, I am glad to see you once again." Sein said with grief.

"Sein, long time no see my friend. I see you found our last hope"

"No Fil, he found me…"

"I see..." Fil turned to Ori

"Ori, you must be in real discomfort right now, knowing our situation"

Ori remained in silence, listening.

"It's not your fault, young one. We spirits suffered much by her rage, but know this: we do not hate nor blame you… The storm in that day took you away, and by any means, it's not your fault by what happened to us".

"How can I ever make amends?" Ori asked with a tear rolling down his face.

"Young Ori, please hold my hand."

Ori holds the hand of the old spirit. Feeling more emotional with every passing second.

"The young always have a reason to cry don't they?" Fil laughs.

"I had a little one, just like you. He has so energetic, he would cry for anything, even after the simplest falls. After he learned to rise, he did not cry anymore, at least for simple falls. If you keep crying your eyes will dry out, I used to say…"

Fil pauses for a moment.

"You remember me of him. Please Ori, as my only request. Save Nibel, so I can meet my nephew again. I miss him so much".

Ori felt such sorrow his tears wouldn't stop coming before the final request of a poor spirit.

"I will Fil, you have my word"

"Thank you, thank you so much… Take my light, may my expertise aid you in your journey. May the Spirit Tree guide your steps… Goodbye…"

With his last word, the spirit began to join Ori's body, his light and skills now would rest in Ori's heart, his tree bloomed with white flowers and the light was gone, Fil was no longer in there.

Ori looked at his hands, still thinking of Fil words.

"How do you feel my dear?" Sein asked.

"I don't know, the same I guess, where is he now?" Ori cleaned the tears from his face, calming down.

"In your heart, his memories and abilities he learned through his life, are now yours."

"How can you know that. I don't feel different, I am just myself, nothing changed"

"We can't so sure of that. Look here, try to climb this wall"

Sein proposed what seemed impossible, a wall with almost no way to hold onto. Ori approached and grabbed a rock he could hold on, then a second, placing his hoofs on something to gain balance. He managed to stay still for a few moments before sliding down.

"Hey, this is not so hard…" Ori said to himself

"Try to do short hops to climb, then repeat it in quick succession. Fil was a master doing that" Sein suggested.

Ori listened and would try, it was pretty clear how to do it, he felt like he always knew to do that. Ori grabbed the wall with his own bare hands and pushed himself upwards, then he had to keep momentum by placing his hoofs and hands to hold for a moment in place, and then push himself upwards. He managed to do this several times gaining altitude, reaching the top of the climb.

"I did it!" Ori and Sein celebrated. "It wasn't hard at all, I feel like I always knew how to climb!"

"This was his gift Ori, you will need all knowledge on our journey ahead, their wisdom is not to be left aside"

"I see." Ori looked at his hands once more. " His heart now lives in me…"

"Let's get moving Ori, the Spirit Tree awaits"

Ori agrees and they start their way back into the caverns. Starting by climbing the hole they came, it was no problem to come back up. A few creatures like slugs and other insects were in the way, Sein took care of them as Ori moved swiftly to safety. They go over many traps of spikes and plants that shoot fireballs, all that action easily recovers his good mood and they manage to reach the Spirit Tree.

**...**

"Somber they found me, dormant and still"

**...**

The scene was much greater than he had in mind, the tree was colossal up close, Ori walked slowly, admiring it.

Upon getting closer to the Spirit Tree, Sein flies up and analyses it, shortly after she return close to Ori.

"The Spirit Tree… He is so weak. He must have used the last of his strength to save you…" Sein told Ori

"He is weak?" Ori repeated. "Like dormant? Can he speak?"

"Ori…" The tree spoke

Ori gasped. "Wow, his voice is echoing in my mind, so loud!" While covering his ears.

"Heal the land… Return Sein… To me…"

"My head gonna explode hearing his voice!" Ori rolled on the ground screaming.

"Ori please, behave yourself" Sein requested

"Okay, okay, I'm alive… But what was that, did you also hear him?

"Beware… Her rage…"

Ori became a little more serious.

"I have heard of what happened here, father. Rest assured, I will restore you… I have promised." Ori gathered his thoughts.

"How scary is that owl…? Am I able to confront her? What if-"

"Ori…" The tree pulled his attention. "Do not fear… For you… Are the light of Nibel"

"Light of Nibel? What does that mean?"

The tree went silent, it appeared it was unconscious.

A few minutes went by...

Sein was lost in thoughts. Ori was sitting on one of the roots of the Spirit Tree, it was already late in the night.

"Ori, you need to rest. Tomorrow will be another great day"

Ori was truly tired and sleepy, he hasn't slept in days. He agrees and goes under one of the roots of the great tree.

"Are you cold my dear? Come closer, my light will keep you warm through the night"

"I did not know you could do that." Ori was almost sleeping. "Thank you…"

"Good night my dear"

...

The next day, Ori wakes up and sees Sein already floating in circles, once again lost in thoughts.

"Heal the land… It is worse than I anticipated… How long was I sleeping in that dead end?" Sein said in a low tone.

"Hi, Sein" Ori greeted her with his mood fully recovered.

"Oh, good morning Ori, There's something I want to tell you"

"Hey Sein, you need to return to the top of the tree right?" Ori asked without listening to Sein.

"I do, but-"

"Okay then!" Ori grabbed Sein. "Please stay still"

"Wa-wait! What are you doing!?" Sein asked uncomfortably.

"Taking you there!" Ori points to the throne where Sein used to rest on top of the tree while holding her by his tail."

He started climbing the Spirit Tree with great speed, Sein was stunned and pleading him to stop, he wouldn't listen. Upon reaching the top, Ori let Sein go from his tail.

"Here we are, now do your thing, and the forest can be restored!" Ori said excitedly.

Sein remains quiet. Creating an awkward silence...

"Listen here you little sh…" Sein holds her own words. "First: You did NOT need to grab me like that, know that I am always going wherever you go. Second: That is not how stuff works! The tree is weakened and can't hold me while we do our duty!"

Ori noticed Sein was pretty angry, she was speaking loud and hovering closer and closer with every word.

"More than that, we must restore balance to the forest, primarily to the elements: water, wind, and warmth. Only then the forest will regain its strength and the tree will be able to bear my light! Was I clear?"

"Y-yes…" Ori answered scared.

"Good, now let's get to ground level."

"Do you want me to hold you?" Ori asked.

Sein pauses for a moment.

"No, don't worry about me, I'll be right behind you".

Ori jumps down and lands without a problem. Guardian Spirits couldn't get hurt by falling by great height. A trait of the noble spirits.

"So, our main focus changed, where do we go now?

"The closest element is the element of water, in the Ginso Tree. Our way lies to the east, in the Thornfelt Swamp"

"Which means more traveling. Okay, let's get moving."

As they start walking.

"You enjoyed the embrace of my tail, say it."

Sein remembered the moments she was being held in his tail, her light flashed a bit.

"NO! I DID NOT! You know I can fly with you, it was unnecessary! And let me finish my sentences before doing stupid stuff."

"Aw, but I did enjoy it, anytime you want to go again, just ask" Ori confessed smiling.

Sein's light flashed a bit again.

"Let's just get going, please. We have a great mission on our hands" Sein requested.

"As you wish" Replied Ori.

They started their way to the Ginso Tree, home of the element of water in Nibel.


	4. The Chase

Traveling the forest of Nibel proved to be harder and harder every time they wanted to get to a new objective. Literally malformed and swelled spiked slugs were a nightmare to deal with, so much mass to burn and once the main body was destroyed it multiplied into lesser ones, repeating the process until there was nothing left. Many more spike traps were to be found and deadly mechanisms with spinning spiked hammers appeared many times, It was uncertain if the Gumon also built those. Sein wasn't sure, but it was deadly and probably not meant for protection. But that all behind, Ori and Sein were getting close to the Ginso Tree.

"Although my child brought light and kindness to the forest, there were others that remained in darkness"

...

"Can you see it, Ori? We're almost there now." Sein said proudly.

The Ginso Tree could easily be spotted as it was such a tall tree, higher even than the Spirit Tree. All water is supposed to flow from the Ginso, but it was completely dry looking from the outside.

"So high, can't wait to climb it!" Ori said excitedly

"Glad you're excited because we will need that to get to the top."

'Will we be able to see the entire forest from the top?" Ori asked.

"Not only that but even further.” Sein replied.

"Amazing! I can't wait"

As they traversed in the forest of Nibel, they finally reached the Ginso tree entrance, but for their surprise, they weren't the first to arrive. They spotted an odd figure, a spider creature with a ball-shaped body with two long arms and legs, he was holding a sphere of magical water, it looked important.

"It can't be… A Gumon? A survivor of the catastrophe? He has the water vein!" Sein was shocked before the creature.

The Gumon notices the spirit.

"Gumo? GUMO! gumo gumo gumo!" He said and started to run with the water vein.

Ori was confused.

"Sein, what was that? You know him?

"That was a survivor, a survivor of the Gumon! He is one of the proud race I mentioned yesterday."

Ori remembered. "Oh, the ones that built the spirit gate. Glad to know they're not extinct as you said."

"And he has the water vein! Ori, we must go after him!"

"What is the water vein?" Ori asked.

"It's the artifact that unlocks the entrance to the ginso tree!"

"Why would a tree have a lockable entrance?" 

Sein was getting angry.

"Too many questions! I will answer on the way, now go after him!"

Ori began to chase the gumon, on their way Sein explained.

"The gumon built protective manners to defend the elements, such as that lockable door that opens only with the special artifact. There are two other doors like that"

"And why is he running from us?"

"I don't know. He must be alone for quite some time, he only knows darkness. We must reach him and take what he stole."

Another giant malformed slug appears before Ori. Gumo could be seen preparing to jump from a log.

"There he is!" Ori spots the gumon "Sein take out this creature."

Sein charged up a great explosion of light, burning the giant slug leaving it stunned, Ori just rotates the slug and continues the chase.

Gumo had vanished.

"He jumped down here, where do you think he went?" Ori asked.

"I don't know, he must have left a trail somewhere. Careful, I sense other animals infected by the decay down there"

"Understood"

Ori jumped down and upon reaching the bottom there was a nasty smell of rot.

"Dear light what is this smell? Can you feel it, Sein?

"I can't, but I do know what causes it: Vile Shooters!"

Many creepy plants like creatures erupt from the ground, they all shoot a vile spit at Ori. He takes refuge behind a rock.

"Wow, quite a nice welcoming reception. How can we deal with them?" Ori asked

"It will be hard to kill them, but the vile shooters are essentially coward predators, they will only shoot at something that is far away from them, and as they cant move freely on the ground, you will need to approach and they will retreat. Upon gaining distance, it will come back up to shoot again."

"Got it." Ori prepared to move.

Ori left his cover and rushed to one of the shooters, upon getting real close it hid on the ground again.

"Keep moving, this one won't shoot as you remain close, but there are many others. Just run and dodge their spit."

Each shooter went back to the ground one by one. As Ori left proximity, they came back up and kept shooting.

"Any idea where the gumon went off to?” Ori asked while dealing with the vile shooters.

"Almost, the water vein resonates with very bright energy, I can feel it." Sein was analyzing. "To the west! He went down that passage to the west!" Sein hovers to the pointed direction

Ori quicky dashes to Sein and is safe behind cover, away from the deadly shooters.

"Finally, a moment to rest."

"It will have to wait. Look, Ori, the gumon is there."

Gumo was at a small passage holding the water vein, he looked back for a moment and quickly leaves.

"Okay, it should be simple to get there… just a few thorns, and…" Ori notices more cracked ground and smell of rot.

"More shooters, can't get any worse than this"

The passage Gumo went through became sealed shut.

"Aw come on! What do we do now?"

Sein looks at the door

"Maybe that door can be destroyed, look at it. It has some of the vile spit of the shooters, It can melt the door!

"You want me to stand there and dodge an almost point-blank shot to destroy the door?"

"Yes." Sein confirmed.

"You want me dead, you merciless blue ball"

"Stop crying and do it already."

Ori gathered forces and moved to the door. He stood still for a moment and all shooters appeared. Before such a sight, Ori though:

"Mother, I love you so much…"

All shooters didn't hesitate and let out a rain of acid fall on the spirit.

Ori blinks and a flash blinds him.

...

"What happened?" Ori notices he is at the safe area he was before standing in front of the door.

"How did I came back up here? Sein!?" The spirit searched her.

"Calm down" Sein revealed herself. "I teleported you back here, look at the door now"

The door was completely melted, quite an unpleasant sight, but a welcome one.

"Absolutely disgusting…" Ori turned to Sein. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"I have a few tricks, I used too much energy and won't be able to do it again anytime soon".

"What else can you do?"

"There is no time! We have to move!"

"But look at that disgusting melted door, I want to puke"

"Yeah, I know, but we need to catch up. If we lose him, we won't restore the Ginso!" Sein reinforced their objective.

"After I catch that thing, I swear…" Ori said in a low tone

Ori and Sein proceed into the passage. Entering the Moon Grotto.

"This place gives me creeps, how much shooters do you think there are in here?" Ori asked Sein.

"I honestly don't know much about this area. This is a place below the ground, where my light couldn't reach. I do not know what awaits us down there, but in the Moon Grotto, lives many creatures that hate the light"

Sunlight was also being blocked by many vines covering the ceiling.

"Do you think he lives in here?" Ori asks

"Maybe, we will find out soon enough."

Deadly lasers welcomed them to his place. More insects like spiders awaited the spirit for a long time. They wanted him, so they placed web traps in many places, luckily Sein would burn the webs off Ori before any spiders could have their way on her spirit.

"This place is like an abyss! it just goes down! How is there still light in this place?" Ori admires his surroundings.

"They have made their sources of light it seems, with fireflies, other types of glowing plants, this place has some fine art I admit." Sein said

"Was that all that Gumon's doing?" Ori asked

"Perhaps… I think it might be"

The Gumon were a race of proud craftsmanship. Gumo probably turned this place into a habitable one, so many creatures could live here.

"Sein, did you notice the gumon being victim of the decay?" Ori asked with curiosity.

"Now that you mention it, he did not show any sign of corruption. How can that be?"

Sein ponders at that moment, she was so shocked by seeing a survivor of a supposedly extinct race that didn't analyze the rest of the picture. Did he create immunity of some sort? Did he build something to protect himself? Very unlikely, until now nothing mechanical could be found in the grotto. Is this place somehow immune from the decay? No, some creatures were corrupted. This place is no special. Somehow he managed to avoid the fate of many animals, Sein bets he dodged it by accident, but right now, she couldn't be certain, but would soon discover

"That's strange, I don't know how I am free from it too, but I guess it is because I have at my side? Ori asked while looking at Sein.

Sein's light flashed a bit once again.

"You give me too much credit my dear, I am happy to protect you, anytime"

“Thanks Sein.” Ori smiles kindly as they proceed.

Going down carefully through the grotto, they finally spot Gumo.

"There he is, down there!"

Gumo began to run again.

"Can you hit him with something Sein? He will run again"

"I can't, and even if I could I would risk hitting the water vein."

Ori sprints to catch up, upon turning in a corner they see Gumo at the other side of a bridge, awaiting their arrival.

"There you are, please we don't want to hurt you, just give us the water vein!" Ori tried to talk to the gumon.

"GUmo! Gumo gumo guMO!" - Gumo shouted.

"I just want to talk! We do not offer any harm to you." Ori started to cross the bridge.

"Ori wait! It's a tr-!"

Gumo pulled a lever and the bridge collapses, Ori falls into the unknown.

"ORI!" Sein quickly goes after the spirit.

The fall was great, the spirit fell to almost to the bottom of the grotto, reaching his hideout. Upon colliding in the ground, Ori was unconscious.

"Ori! Are you okay?! Please stand up!" Sein was circling Ori worried. "I need to do something!"

Sein started to shine brighter, she shared half of her light with him, hoping he would wake up.

It does something. Ori grunts, and coughs as he tries to wake up.

"My head..."

Ori raised his body and manages to sit down.

"Thank… the light you are safe." Sein landed on Ori's lap, "I need to rest a bit…"

Ori brushed his eyes "I ended falling from such heigh, I'm sorry for worrying you, Sein"

Sein remained in silence.

"Okay, I'll let you recharge." Ori said as he grabbed Sein and stood up.

"Even you spirits can't stand immense falls huh" Sein observed

"I guess we can't survive everything, at least I didn't have the chance to land like I always do."

Observing the surroundings Ori sees a big hut, with fire illuminating the place

"This must be his house… Judging by the looks of it. Hey Sein, I don't mind waiting for you to recharge… But how much time do you need?"

"I am not certain, just hold me close…"

Many spikes traps were around, "thank the light I didn't fall on one of those" the spirit though. They had to climb all the way up again, but there's no wall to be climbed. Spikes blocked the only wall available, another wall on the other side was unreachable, Ori couldn't jump that high, the only option left was to follow the only passage, which also leads downwards.

"Sein, I think we gotta move… This place gives me the creeps"

"I can't move right now, need to rest…"

"Not a problem, as long you keep contact with me, you should be fine right? I'll hold you on my tail"

Sein took a moment to think. "Oh no, not the tail"

"You will forgive me, but we got company." 

Spiders started to descend on their webs closing on the spirit, they did some strange gestures.

Ori wrapped Sein in his tail and started moving. They had to explore the place more before understanding where to go. A few steps and they could hear stone colliding with stone.

"What sound is that?" Ori questioned what he just heard.

They now could see the traps, rocks pillars slamming against each other, crushing anything that would get caught in between.

"There seems to be a passage through the pillars, think we can check it?" Ori suggests

"You'll get us both killed, don't go in there"

"Okay, probably nothing worth down there, let's just avoid the death pillars. Moving on..."

Moving forward the place just showed more deadly traps. Until a moment, Sein felt a presence.

"Ori, hold a moment"

Ori stops and holds Sein on his hands.

"What is it?"

"I feel the presence of a spirit nearby, its light is weak, but he is close."

"Really? We have to find him!"

"He is below us. Tread carefully, I am almost restored" Sein informed.

"Okay, I can see a way down. Since this place is a cursed abyss, I don't even mind anymore! I can't wait to reach the center of the planet!"

And down they went, thinking in one day they would reach the bottom of that place. They couldn't even be certain if they were still in the moon grotto.

"He is close." Sein notices something. "Careful, I feel something else on the way, please just wait for me to recover, let us be safe."

"But we are so close, even I can feel his light, but waiting a bit shouldn't hurt" Ori sat down holding Sein, at the moment they hear a voice.

"Gumo gumo gumo, guMO." as they also heard the sound of a stone door closing.

"It's him!" Ori said enraged. "He did something to the spirit!"

"Let's go, Ori, there is no time to wait, just be careful"

Ori rushed forward holding Sein under his arm. Upon seeing the light, he spots Gumo holding a shard, and the spirit is behind a spirit gate.

"Ori, he has the shard for the gate."

Gumo quickly throws the shard towards Ori.

Ori moved forward to catch it

"Don't!" Sein flashed, stopping her spirit

While the shard flew, a giant vile shooter erupts from the ground and swallows the key to the gate.

Ori was stunned.

"So, that's the strange energy I felt before" Sein analyses the beast.

Ori recovers himself.

"It swallowed the shard! What do we do?!"

"Discipline Ori" Sein started to float by herself again. "We will take it back, one way or another"

Gumo leaves the scene.

"Sein are you okay? Don't force yourself."

"Although I need a bit more of time, I can fight again. You will need my help here. We must kill this creature."

The giant shooter could move freely on the ground, leap from it and go back digging,

The shooter started digging and started a mini earthquake, shaking the ground under Ori hoofs.

"Below you! Watch out"

Ori changes his position, leaving the shaking area. The shooter erupts and leaps in the air, spitting once and digging again.

Ori dodges the spit.

"Find a moment where I can attack Ori, watch where the shooter will appear"

He feels the ground below him shaking again.

"Below me! Sein!

Ori gets out of the way but stays close to the beast. As it leaps in the air Sein quickly shoots many light beams, setting it on fire. The vile shooter quickly return to the safety of the underground

"It will get harder from here. See an opening for me, and I'll finish it off" Sein said.

The beast boosted its movement, changing its patterns. Ori was completely focused listening to the digging sound, trying to pinpoint where it will appear. The beast surprised them by erupting not from the ground, but by the wall. It spits once and hides again.

Barely managing to dodge, Ori places his ear on the ground. Sein was charging her light to finish off the shooter, she just needed to know when to blast. The shaking and noises were echoing in the room, becoming almost impossible to find the right spot. Ori so though:

"Sein, can you focus your explosion?

"I never tried it before, I think I can."

"Release your energy on one of these holes, it will catch the beast on its tunnels."

"I see, let's get it when it hides again, I'll blast the hole that it takes"

They waited for the shooter to do its thing, it erupts from the ceiling of the room. In a moment, Ori had to dodge its spit and place himself close to where it would land, taking care to not be directly below it. But he had an idea.

Ori quickly jumps and holds himself on the side of the beast, it doesn't shoot and falls digging again. Ori was well placed, it was time.

Sein focused her energy and releases it on the hole the beast took, the room trembles from the impact, blue flames erupt from all previous holes the beast made, and it comes out burning and weakened.

"It is done…" Sein proudly confirms. "The flames will do the rest, once it stops moving, take the shard from its belly"

Ori was disgusted from just the thought, and also he said to Sein

"Hm Sein, can you help my hand here, it's hurting bad."

Ori's hand was covered in mucus that the beast had, it was just like the acid it spits, but weaker.

"Come closer, you will feel a slight burn, but it will heal soon" As she burns the mucus from his hand.

"You okay Ori?

"Yeah, I'm much better, barely felt a heat"

"Glad to hear, I think I need to rest again"

"Come here you tired blue ball, let me fix you this time around."

Sein floats closer and lands on Ori's arms, flashing a bit.

The shooter had burned out, Ori takes the shard.

"Well, that was less disgusting than I thought it would be"

While holding Sein, Ori approaches the gate.

"Okay, let's see how's the spirit is." Ori said while placing the shard on the gate

"Ori, don't raise your hopes"

"Why not? I can finally meet one of my kind!"

The gate opens, revealing a small tree with a light inside.

Ori's long ears droop. Sein starts to glow a bit brighter.

"By what you said earlier, I thought the spirit was alive…"

"I couldn't tell in the state I was, and am right now. Please forgive me for not being clear"

"It's okay… I should have remembered Fil's words"

Ori remained quiet for a moment.

"So, who's in there?"

"This is the resting place of Leru, she was swift, agile, she used to cut through the air. Go, touch her tree, feel her light."

Ori was hesitant in going further, he already felt such sadness from the memory of Fil, he did not want to go through this again.

"We must be strong in times like this, we cannot let their pain and memories be forgotten, for we are their only hope to see a better future. Fear not my dear, we will restore our blind forest.”

An emotional speech. However, it mattered little to Ori. Inside that tree, is another spirit that lost its life by Kuro, if only Ori had returned to the Spirit Tree that day. Maybe…

Sein fails in reaching Ori's feelings, she had to ensure he would be able to complete the task, and also ensure that his mind would be protected for the future, so he could live the life he deserves. Instead of talking about life in the forest, Sein would now instead look at her spirit's life

"Ori, my dear… Maybe this wound will never heal, and you are so young. It is devastating to bear this alone, please let me be the pillow of your heart, Rest upon my light and I will keep you safe before the darkest night. Believe in me, who believes in you, to guard your feelings"

Emotionally unstable, Ori falls on his knees, he raises Sein and touches his forehead on her. Sein's light glowed stronger.

They remained for a long moment like that, resting their thoughts on each other. Once Ori had recovered from his grief, he stood up, determined to face Leru. Upon touching the small tree, the light inside changed its form.

"Hi, Ori, nice to meet you."

Leru appeared in front of her tree, she was a mature female spirit, quite taller than Ori.

"Hi, Leru" Sein greeted an old friend while resting on Ori's arms.

"Sein, I missed you so much, glad to know you're safe. Why would you too, be doing in a place like this?"

"Much happened Leru, Ori and I started chasing the thief of the water vein. He guided us to this place, we are now trying to find our way back up. In the meantime we found you. How did you end down here?"

"It's a long story, you two already know most of it, so I'll skip to the end. I was one of the spirits that went further away after her attack, I did not want to stay in the spirit caverns, I ran to the Thornfelt Swamp and would soon perish to my wounds. Then, a gumon had found me, he took me to his hideout here in the depths of the Moon Grotto. He took care of me, he showed kindness to me, but he couldn't save me. In my final moments, I begged to him to let me return to the earth, I did not want to die and let my life be forgotten. I had the hope you would reach me here one day, so my memories could be useful to someone. He took care of my body and even after it became this tree, he protected me from predators and trained a giant creature to keep guard."

Leru showed signs of pain and suffering while telling the story.

"Is the thief the same one who tried to help me?" Leru asked.

"I fear so." Sein said. "He took the artifact of the Ginso Tree, do you know why he would do it?"

"Sadly, I don't. I would guess that he is searching a way to restore me, or searching for something that has a similar light as mine. He was attached to me, even after I never showed him that much sympathy, my heart aches thinking of it. He is trying to find hope, he's been alone for so long. He was different from the rest of his race, he lived here alone, for how long one knows. He's still blinded by darkness, but still showed affection to me. "

"I see..." Sein understands.

Leru was almost crying, but quickly regain her posture turning her attention to Ori.

"Ori, my love, I felt you hesitating earlier… Maybe this won't make you feel better, but I also feel I shouldn't worry about the future. We are in good hands, we are glad to have you at our side."

Leru wanted to cheer up the little spirit

"You might be little today, but soon you will grow, not in size, unfortunately, but in the heart. I am certain of it."

Leru circles Ori.

"Let me tell you my story: During my young years, I always loved the feeling of flying, so much that I strived to reach the skies. The feeling to be airborne was so phenomenal to me, that I became addicted to it. I jumped so many times in my years, it became natural to leap instead of walkin. With time, I could jump so high that I could push myself up once again while airborne, it is a double jump! It is my biggest trait!"

"A double jump? Is it possible?" Ori was interested in Leru's skill of leaping a second time while in the air.

"Yes, it is! Imagine, you can reach so much more, with a simple trick that took me years to learn, I will give it to you! For rescuing me in this place, I will help you with everything I got.”

Ori was excited, Leru had success in her mission

"You gotta try it yourself! Just take my hand, and it will be yours."

But soon Leru realizes her mistake.

"If I do that… You'll be gone…"

"No you dummy, I won't be gone, I'll be with you and Fil"

"Fil? You know him?" Ori asked.

"I do, I can feel his light within you. He is a part of you now, and so shall I be."

"I don't want that to happen! I don't want you to be gone."

Sein wanted to clarify things for Ori.

"Ori, she mentioned before, she will never be gone. You know that we can't leave her here forever"

Ori did not want to let her go.

"She doesn't need to vanish like him! Come with us, it will be fun I promise."

Unfortunately, Leru was stuck to her tree. She cant leave its side, for she can't move or leave her light behind. Ori did not understand. Sein would once again speak to her spirit.

"My dear, rememb-"

"It's okay Sein." Leru said. "Since you came all the way down here, it's only fair that I join you two in your quest, I guess. So let us begin! Show me the way!" As she announced with a smile on her face.

Ori's eyes sparkled hearing her words, he was happy that he would still be able to talk to her for the time to come. Ori celebrated tossing Sein up and catching her back again. Ori turned around and moved began moving ahead, he shared his plan to leave the Moon Grotto.

"Okay! We need to find a way to leave this place, there was a difficult wall to rea-"

Ori feels being hugged from behind. A melodic blue light could be seen in the small room.

"Leru?" he turns around.

Her tree blooms with many with flowers, the light was no longer there.

"Leru!?" Ori called to her.

"Where is she?! She said she would come with us!"

"She is with us, Ori" Sein spoke.

"No! I wanted to talk more with her! Where is she!?"

...

A moment passes and the silence answered his question. Ori collapsed in denial, crying every tear he could shed. He releases Sein on the ground and she rolls away for a brief moment.

...

Several minutes go by, Ori sobs under Leru's tree. Sein was distant, she floated with difficulty back her spirit, as she got closer, she was pushed away by him. Sein tried to get closer many more times to no avail, her spirit was furious, the so familiar feeling of loss had overwhelmed him. Still, she kept trying.

An hour later, Ori ended up sleeping and Sein finally manages to reach him. As she presses herself against his fur, Ori wakes up.

Expecting to be pushed away once more, she is surprised. Ori picks her and wraps himself around her in a curled up position, he breathes heavily and falls asleep... Sein finally is accepted and flashes slightly, thinking to herself.

"Oh Leru, you always were weak with children, to a point you couldn't even bear to see one sad. That, was your biggest trait"

...

Hours after, Ori wakes up recovered.

"Hello my dear, feeling better?" Sein asked.

Ori did not answer.

"I understand. I am too restored, I can aid you much better now. Shall we get moving?"

Ori remembered the place they were, for their luck nothing else came to use their weakened state as an advantage. What about Gumo? This was his garden, the tree was special to him, he didn't care? Right now, it was more important to find the exit of this place. Thanks to Leru, it was now possible to reach a wall guarded by spikes and climb from there.

Sad and quiet, Ori returned the path they took. Upon reaching the gumon's hut, there was it, a wall and many spikes on the way, a simple jump wouldn't reach, but what about two jumps?

"Are you ready? If anything happens, I'll bring you back to safety."

"Maybe I should practice it in that open space? Just to be safe." Ori suggested.

"Certainly, go ahead"

Ori positions himself to jump, something he did plenty already, he had a good space to jump without risking to hurt himself. And so he did it.

He did the biggest jump he could do, he remained in the air for a moment and started to lands normally.

Ori was a bit shy.

"What's wrong? Couldn't do it?" Sein asked.

"Ahn, I don't know, it felt so good to be in the air that I just stopped thinking… I don't know what came of me, I will try again"

Sein realized that Leru was well and doing a party in his heart, she wants to demonstrate how she felt her joy to him.

Ori does another great jump, he reaches his maximum height and starts descending. He lands normally again.

Ori was blushing and breathing heavily.

"Sein, it feels so good, I can't resist. I can't remember how to do the double jump!"

Sein laughs kindly.

"Then, try to double jump immediately after jumping, before the airborne sensation kicks in"

He did short hops, one a bit bigger than the other, and in a hop, he launched upwards. He managed to double jump.

"You did it!" said Sein as she noticed Ori flying to the bed of spikes.

"Oh no, hold on!"

Ori hasn't even noticed, the airborne sensation was a bit too strong.

Sein pulls Ori to the safe ground.

"Wow, how did you so that? It felt so good…" Ori was tripping in the sensation. He laid on the ground.

"I think we need to turn down your sensations a bit, to at least you can keep your focus while airborne"

Sein quickly zaps Ori's head.

"Ow! What did you do?"

"Try now, you should still feel good while in the air, just without the tripping sensation."

Scratching his head he stands up, as he prepares to double jump, he said to himself:

"Okay, this time, no going crazy about it. Just focus."

And so he tried again, doing a big leap, high in the air, he closed his eyes and embraced the moment. Before losing momentum, he tried to jump again, and it worked, he pushed himself upwards, looked like his hoofs worked like a propulsor. After that, he went down and landed.

He took a moment to think, Sein came closer.

"You did it, how do you feel?"

"It was incredible, her gift is incredible. Just like she said, it is good indeed to be in the air"

Sein's light flashes a bit.

"Then it's settled, let's leave this hole."

"Right away" Ori replied.

Ori took some space and ran to the spikes, jumping forward.

"Jump again! You're losing altitude!" Sein warned.

Ori adjusts his body to the direction he wants to go, he jumps again and regains control, reaching the wall and celebrating his accomplishment.

"Celebrate later my dear, focus on climbing!"

Ori began to slide down as he needs to keep momentum to climb, in just a few moments, they were on their way to leave the grotto. Gumo spotted them from the distance, he still had a plan…

As the duo climbed their way out of his hideout...

"Hey Sein, please forgive me from what happened earlier."

Sein's light glowed a bit.

"Please do not worry, just focus on climbing. If you keep talking, you'll tire faster."

"I know, it's just that, I felt too emotional regarding Leru gentle nature. She kind of reminded me of my mother, I liked her."

Sein knew since he was so young, it's pretty simple for him to be easily attracted by females. All he ever had was his mother, and deep down, he wanted that motherly presence close to him again. Even so, Sein was happy he took responsibility for his actions, this can ensure he will not get so emotional with a next farewell, he needed it to grow. For his journey will be hard for the time to come.

Sein wanted to reply, but as she was thinking, they finally managed to reach the broken bridge. This time on the side where Gumo was with the lever.

"Finally, back up here again!" Ori notices the lever. "What is this? He moved this thing and the bridge broke, how he did that?"

"This is another invention of his, maybe the lever was connected to one important support of the bridge. By pulling it, he broke that support, and the bridge collapsed."

"Oh, it's called a lever, interesting." Ori pokes the lever.

"Let's search for this place and find our stolen good. But Ori" Sein floated closer.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Whatever happens, Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment regarding the gumon, okay?"

Ori reflects all the trouble they had until this moment.

"I learned he is not a bad person thanks to Leru, I will try to talk to him. Hope he listens… "

Sein was relieved.

"Thank you, my dear."

And so forward they pressed.

"Look, Sein, there is another way up, think it will lead closer back to the swamp?"

"I think so, lets climb and see."

With a nod, Ori began climbing, and for their surprise, Gumo reveals himself on top of the passage

With his sudden appearance, Ori and Sein go back to ground level.

"Gumo, gumo GuMo gumo… GUMO GUMO!" As he retreats out of sight.

The duo hear the sound of another lever being pulled

"Oh no…" Sein said.

The place began to collapse. Sound of boulders and rocks rumbling came down.

"GUUUmooooooooo!" the gumon screamed.

"What happened? Earthquake?! Ori asked scared.

Boulders were falling on them.

"He is trying to bury us here! Ori, we need to climb up there now!"

Without hesitation, Ori began climbing and dodging the boulders falling. Panic was almost unbearable, making his choices decide between life and death, one false move and they never see daylight again.

Sein used her light beams to push big rocks away while destroying smaller ones.

A giant boulder was soon to meet them.

"We can't dodge! Jump to the other wall quickly!" Sein warned.

Bigger and bigger boulders appeared before them, Ori jumped from wall to wall, jumping through the air, managing to dodge certain death multiple times. They were almost there. Their last obstacle was to get in the platform where Gumo was, there they would be safe. Before that, they had to deal with the last boulder on their way, and it was dangerously close, so close that maybe jumping to the side won't do.

Sein focused a beam of light on the rock, holding its momentum for but an instant. Ori used this opportunity to leap backward, dodging the rock, but another was coming on the direction he went, acting quickly, Ori readjusts his body and double jumps to the platform, reaching the safe ground.

Ori sits on the ground to catch his breath

"You did it dear, breath easy"

Gasping, Ori tries to speak

"I need some water." He coughs.

"I don't have any, just try to rest" Sein replied.

"Gumo…"

The duo heard what was likely a cry for help, behind a rock close by, there he was... The gumon, stuck with his leg under the rock, unable to move.

Ori got closer, offering help.

"Hey there, finally I can speak to you. Let's take this rock out of you first"

Ori pulls the rock, setting the gumon free. Gumo quickly stands up and tries to run, but is halted by the spirit, that held his hand.

"Please wait, I just want to talk." The spirit said calmly.

Gumo felt the light of the spirit run through his body, he panics and runs away.

"Gumo!" Ori called to him.

Ori's ears droop by seeing his attempt to befriend the gumon failing.

"I feel our chase is over, but we must not give up dear. Let's catch up to him." Sein observed.

Ori agrees but doesn't rush after him, he just walks normally.

Just a few steps away from the trap Gumo created....

…

"Ori brought kindness and hope to his heart"

...

The gumon revealed himself before Ori and Sein once more, this time he was holding the water vein.

"Gumo gumo, gumo…" he said in a sad tone.

Gumo releases the vein and pushes it towards Ori. Ori holds the vein and circles it, focusing on the gumon.

"Hey, want to hold my hand?" Ori asks reaching out for Gumo.

Gumo tried to apologize and somehow the spirit wasn't satisfied, what does he want? Gumo looks at the spirit's hand within reach, he holds back for a moment. His presence remembered Leru, his light, white fur, black eyes with white pupils, but it wasn't her. It's another completely different spirit. But why is this spirit so close? And what his hand means?

"Gumo…?" The gumon asks

"Let's be friends Gumo"

Gumo was still a bit confused, he understood the spirit wanted him to grab his hand, and so he did it.

Gumo felt quite peculiar, upon holding the spirit's hand, he could feel his light joining his body, instead of panicking, he stood still and relaxed.

Sein observed her spirit, she knew that the spirit's light have healing properties, but it was not certain if it can cure one's mind. In any case, the gumon changed his behavior

After that moment, Gumo let go of Ori's hand and begins to leave.

"Gumo, gumo gumo guMo" Ori said.

Gumo was shocked.

"Ori? My dear, what are you doing?" Sein politely asked.

"I'm talking to him, in his language." Ori replied.

And now Sein was shocked.

"What? You're talking in his language?!" Sein repeated.

Gumo returned and looked at Ori.

"Gumo? gumo gumo gumo?" Gumo asks

"Gumo gumo gumo gumo!" Ori replies

"Gumo gumo gumo GumO!" Ori announces.

Gumo remained in silence for a moment and bursts in happiness.

"GumO! gumo gUmo gumo!" Gumo shouted.

"Gumo gumo gumo gumO!" Ori said while jumping in place.

"By the sacred light, what is happening here!?” Sein asked. “How on earth are you talking in the gumon language?!”

Ori turns his attention to Sein.

"I don't know either, I just wanted to speak in a way he would understand, and voila! We can speak clearly!"

"That's not how the spirit light works! This is nonsense!" Sein said.

It was useless, Ori and Gumo were chatting like best friends now, repeating the same word over and over again. Sein felt she could go crazy hearing they talk like that.

"Gumo gumo gumo hahaha!" Ori said

"Gumo! hahaha Gumo GUmo" Gumo said laughing

Such sight could not sink in for Sein, it was impossible. How did a spirit learn a language by a simple touch? Maybe there's something even she doesn't know about spirits? Somebody explain it to her! I'm out!

"I think, I need to sleep…" Sein faints.

…

"Sein? Hey, wake up princess" Ori called to her

"Ori… I just had the strangest nightmare…"

"That's harsh, but it's over now right?"

Gumo comes closer looking worried.

"Gumo gumo?" He asks

"Gumo, gumo gumO" Ori replies

Sein's light blinks many times. It wasn't a nightmare.

"By the way Sein, why were you sleeping like that on the ground? You had us worried. Did you run out of energy somehow?"

"No, I just… Took a little nap real quick"

"You slept for three hours"

"I… I know it. That's what a quick nap is"

Ori looks worried at Sein.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am indeed very well I ensure you, so well in fact that I can be my fullest self in the most enjoyable state of finesse there is, also, we should get moving soon"

Ori and Gumo look at each other.

"Gumo?" Ori wanted to know what Gumo thought about Sein's behavior

"Gumo, gumo gumo gumo hum hum" He has also suspected something strange.

They discuss something in private.

"Then it is settled, we are going to Gumo house to treat you, Sein. We can look at you better there, come with me"

"What? You not taking me anywhere if it's not the Ginso Tree".

"No Ginso for you until we know what's wrong"

Sein began to lose it

"Ori, we are still on a mission. We must restore the elements so I can heal the forest"

"Yeah, but you won't do well in your state, you need to be examined."

She was really losing it

"Listen here Ori, you gonna grab the water vein, say goodbye to your friend and we will travel back to the Ginso. Right now."

"Not gonna happen, you're acting too strange. What if you flash out again in the middle of the action? We cannot risk it."

Welp.

"I am NOT going back to that hole! You will take the water vein OR I'll kill you both here and now!"

Ori and Gumo fall on the ground laughing

"You fell for it!" Ori rolls on the ground laughing.

"Gumo! GUMO GUMO gumo hahaha gumo"

Sein remained in silence.

"We managed to make you believe we are going back to have a look at you." Ori said smiling. "Also, we did not know you took naps all of the sudden, and it wasn't three hours. It was just ten minutes, we spent that time chatting and planning to prank you."

"Is that so?" Sein whispered.

Sein floated higher

"I had enough. You both are going to die."

The mood got quite serious.

"Ahn, Sein? It was just a joke, nothing serious, take it easy." Ori said a bit worried

Sein started to bright with intensity.

"I am going to restore this forest by myself, I will stand your childish behavior no more."

Ori was getting scared

"Sein? Come on, stop it already! You know you can't do it without me! You said it yourself."

"Fear not, I will take hold of your body and control it by my will, your mind will be lost as the rest lives as my puppet forevermore."

"You can't scare me! You won't do that!

"You think so?" Sein shoots one light beam at Ori, just barely missing it on purpose.

Gumo goes into hiding.

"Hey, you can't be serious..." Despair started to take hold of his mind.

Ori ran away and Sein quickly followed shooting many more beams. The chase ends quickly as he gets into a dead end.

"Sein, please I'm sorry if I hurt you, sorry sorry, I'm so sorry."

Sein hovers a bit closer.

"You're sorry?"

"Yes! Please don't kill me."

Sein was charging her light.

"That's all you have to say?"

Ori remained in silence, closing his eyes and covering his ears.

...

"You fell for it!" Sein toned down her brightness.

"What?" Ori opened his eyes.

"You should know I can't do something like that to you, or kill your newest friend."

Gumo pops out in a corner peeking.

"Hey, Gumo" Sein called him. "You can stop hiding now."

"Gumo?" the gumon was scared.

Sein was now the one laughing at the duo, she had her revenge.

"You know, when you prank a wisp, remember we will take it to the next level, so I don't recommend doing it ever again, got it?"

"Yes, we understand" Ori spoke for both him and Gumo.

...

After all that show, Gumo and Ori said goodbye, the two became great friends.

"Shall we get moving Ori? We remained in here for long enough."

"Yes, let's go. Hope he does well out there. He really can't come with us?"

"No my dear, he has a difficult path ahead. One he must travel alone to reach happiness." Sein made a short pause. "But thanks to you, he now has the courage to walk that path."

"I see… Wishing best of luck to him. Hope to see him again."

"I bet you will. Now come, take the water vein. There is much to be done."


	5. Heart of Water

The adventures in the moon grotto were great for Ori and Sein, but it was time to leave. That place was still infested with many dangers.

And so they traveled back with much more ease thanks to the double jump. The water vein was in Ori's hands, a sphere of light and magical water, said to be the key to the Ginso tree. It was quite big but Ori managed to make it smaller thanks to his spirit light. Sein confirmed it would not harm the artifact, so that could help them as they returned. They dodge a set of deadly laser, they get back to the swamp, deal with the shooters, climb back up, and finally. They reach the Ginso Tree.

The massive tree welcomed them with the passage locked.

"Place the vein in that space, just remember to restore its size first"

Ori restores the vein's size and places it in the most ideal place where it could fit. The door glows in a blue tone and rotates, opening the entrance. Ori and Sein enter.

They have a look around. Bugs caused much damage to the tree, the wood looked like it could crumble and put the whole tree down. Other than that, the place was meant to be climbed, no other way to go except upwards.

"The waters of Nibel once flowed through this very tree… Now its all rotten and dried up inside. We shall restore the flow, the Ginso's Heart we must find."

"How are we going to restore the waters?"

"I can fuse myself with the element for a short moment, restoring it from the inside out. My light, as well as yours, can heal many things. This time, this will a task of mine to heal this tree"

Ori was determined.

"Understood! Let's find the heart of water!"

Before they begin their way up, they notice a mysterious magic passage.

"Sein, what is that?" Ori points to the glowing passage. "It almost everywhere"

"Ah, this is something you will enjoy. Check this out"

Sein flew up to it and went through the mysterious glow. Vanishing from sight.

"Sein?" Ori called to her.

She didn't answer.

"Sein!?" Ori became worried.

Ori moves to the glow Sein went through. Upon getting close, he tests the energy by carefully touching it. He doesn't feel anything, so he gathers the courage to go through and brave whatever happens.

As soon as he moves in.

"Surprise!" Sein pops out of the energy she had previously vanished

Scared, Ori leaps back.

"Did I scare you?" Sein was laughing.

"What did you do? Where were you!? Not funny!" Ori was mad.

"Forgive me. I just couldn't stop it. It's not every day I can pull one like that" Sein was overjoyed "A wisp can have some fun too right?"

"I guess…" Ori shrugs.

"When I do it I get into trouble…" He said in a low tone

Sein noticed.

"Did you say something?"

"Nope! Were you saying? Ori played the fool."

"Ah yes, let me tell what these glowing passages can do. This time, I'm not playing around" Sein said trying not to laugh.

Ori wasn't convinced

"I swear! You have my word as the wisp of Nibel!"

She flies closer to a nearby passage.

"Okay. This is a teleportation waygate, or just gate if you prefer. It takes you from point A to point B and vice versa. For example..."

Sein went through the waygate, appearing in another place.

"...and you'll end on the other point. Wherever the gate..."

She goes through the waygate again.

"...Ah, and don't worry, there are no gates..."

She did it again.

"...you spot the other side somewhere nearby. Was I clear?"

Ori, as a well-behaved guardian spirit of the forest, gently replies.

"CLEAR?! I DIDN'T GET A SINGLE THING YOU SPAT OUT! STOP PLAYING WITH ME!"

Sein bursts into laughter, she was taking her time to play with her spirit. Enjoying every moment, Ori never heard her laughing so much before. To be fair, never saw her having fun before.

Sein flies back to Ori, she lands on his arms.

"Are you finished?" Ori asked her

'Forgive me, but you're so cute when stressed. I can't resist"

"Thanks for the compliment, but we should get moving"

Sein goes back into flying. This time she guides her spirit correctly and explains what the waygates do. Ori then started exploring the joy of the teleportation, playing around a bit himself before returning to the mission, they had a good time.

A bit later...

"Let us go, Ori before the day ends. We got to reach the heart of the Ginso."

"Aww..." Ori acts like a child who's time to go to bed.

And so they returned to their mission.

At that moment, Ori had already dominated how to use teleportation to his advantage. To see where one would lead to, was to just get close enough until the energy could shine stronger, and the same strong glow could be seen on another gate, meaning once entering here, you appear there. All gates could be found explicitly on the tree's wood. Sein also explained, some waygates would lead to other places otherwise unreachable by normal climbing or platforming.

The first moments were pretty easy. Taking out a few bugs and teleporting from side to side. Reaching higher every time. Luckily there was no risk of falling as the tree had floors that prevented falling to the bottom. The teleportation gates would take Ori to these new floors, but their ascent to the top would not stop anytime soon

"Sein, we have been climbing for hours! Can we rest a bit?"

Sein notices it's already late at night, so it is plausible to see her spirit wanting to sleep.

"Maybe you're right. We should rest, but we need to find somewhere safe first. Hold on for a bit longer, as long you keep your mind occupied, you won't feel so sleepy."

"Occupied with what? The waygates were fun, but it's boring now. Also, those bugs are here just to annoy us" Ori grunted.

Sein pleaded to him go just a bit further. They move on to a new area and she spots the perfect waygate to keep him awake for a few more hours.

"Ori, would you look at this?" Sein tries to pull the spirit's attention.

As sleepy as Ori was, he almost didn't care. But seeing Sein going on a loop of waygates looked too fun to pass up.

She was falling into a waygate into the other, she found a really good loop, each time falling faster.

"Wow! I wanna try it too!" Ori was now fully awake

Sein leaves the loop of waygates to give some advice to Ori.

"You gotta try it! Just let me warn you-" Ori had vanished.

"Ori?!"

He got inside the loop.

"This"

"Is".

"So".

"Fun!".

His speed at each warp increased drastically, and as he was airborne, he started to trip in the feeling.

"My dear! Jump out of there!"

He didn't listen. He was falling so quickly he couldn't stop it anymore, the pressure was already big enough to hurt him. If he collides with the ground at that moment, would certainly result in death.

"Well, I wonder what you would do if I weren't here" Sein prepared to save her spirit

She could teleport him, but it would take a lot of her energy. She could pull him, but due to his enormous falling speed, pulling him out of the loop forcefully could hurt him badly. Her teleport seemed to be the safest option, it would cancel his momentum and he would be safe. However, she wanted to try something else.

"Time to finally try something I call as Waygate Manipulation"

Her technique was meant just to make a waygate to teleport to another place it wasn't originally taking you to, so in the room filled with many gates all around, she could make one gate teleport to the first they saw at the base of the tree.

"Now, how am I going to make this…" Sein ponders.

Ori might already be unconscious at this point, if not dead.

"Ah, I will just do the simple and easy method" She decided.

Sein enveloped her light to all waygates in the room, creating a net on each gate. When Ori falls through them, they would hold his momentum a little, gradually reducing his falling speed. At a point, he could easily be pulled back to Sein without risks.

"In the end, I didn't even use the manipulation. Oh well. Maybe there's a next time" She said to herself while pulling Ori to safety

Barely breathing, Ori manages to say.

"That… Was *cough* so crazy! I think I'm gonn-" Ori throws up on the ground.

"You're crazy! You could have died there. Why didn't you listen to me before jumping in?"

Ori was stunned.

"Fine, at least you're now fully awake. Recover and let us get back moving"

After a brief time, Ori recovers and they go back to their main objective. Ori was a bit embarrassed by almost dying on the waygates, but it was fun while it lasted.

Sein feels the light of a deceased spirit nearby.

"Even here… But why?" Sein said in a low tone.

"Sein? What's wrong?"

"My dear, there is a deceased spirit nearby. Can you feel it?"

Ori immediately remembers his trauma from the previous time. He understands he can't get emotionally attached to the spirits he meets, also he knows they're are victims of her attack and not alive anymore. They cant move away from their resting place. All they can do is wait, wait for the light to rescue them. In a world almost losing the fight to darkness, Ori had to overcome any obstacles. He won't let his feelings cloud his thoughts. No more crying. This time, things should go differently.

The rot and decay were increasing as they climbed. The smell also was hard to endure as they were getting close to the spirit. Until one moment there was it, a small tree with a light inside.

"There it is…" Sein said. "My dear, are you ready?"

Ori takes a deep breath.

"Yes. Let's go"

Sein flies closer to the tree.

"Cries of dismay I hear from this ancestral tree. Not only that but, rage…"

Sein pauses for a moment.

"The spirit that rests here is Reem, an agile spirit with a truly bold personality. He was a great warrior among the spirits. Come, Ori, listen to his voice, listen to the wisdom he shared. And do know, this won't be easy."

Ori analyzed Sein's words. What did she mean by this won't be easy? But anyway, better not keep him waiting. He must have suffered enough already.

Ori touches his tree.

"Took your time, jerk."

Ori takes a bit a distance. The light takes shape of a male spirit, physically stronger than Ori. With red symbols tattooed on his ears and forehead, also looking quite angry.

"Reem, please, you don't need to do this" Sein pleaded

Reem approaches Ori.

"Oh, but I do".

Reem punches Ori in the face, knocking him down.

"Stand up! So I can punch you again."

Ori struggles on the ground.

"What's wrong with you? Why did you hit me?" Ori asked.

"I said stand up. Don't make me kick you too"

"Stop! Ori had nothing to do with Kuro!" Sein shouted

Reem grabs Ori by the neck, lifting him.

"Had nothing to do!? Because of this weakling we all suffered! He is the reason we all died!"

"Release him right now Reem!"

"Or what?!"

Sein remains in silence

"That's what I thought. Look at you Sein, just a fragment of your former self. Where are your powers over the forest? Oh right, you lost them. Because of this pathetic failure" Reem gestures towards Ori

Ori remained in silence, suffering the grip of the enraged spirit.

"And now you think this crap gonna save our forest?! Geez, this can't be serious. I can just kill him here and now!"

Reem clenches his fist, going for another blow.

Ori kicks Reem on the chest with both hoofs before receiving another punch. Pushing him back and getting free from his grip.

"Tsk, the trash wanna play?"

Ori gathers determination to face Reem.

"I know very well what happened that day. I don't care if you believe in me or not. I will restore this forest"

Reem laughs

"After all you already did? You, will restore the waters and the forest? Guess what? You will fail, I'm not joking."

"What makes you think I can't?"

"Because you can't do shit without Sein"

Reem had a point, and Ori could agree with that. However, they were a team in a mission. One would help the other to achieve the goal and survive. They were never meant to work separated.

"Still hides behind her to do the hard work for you. If she could she would do it alone. You are just a boulder in her path, a nuisance"

"You are in no right to judge me, nor how we will do what is required"

Reem grunts.

"You will share with me your wisdom, so I can go forward."

"You will get nothing from me! I won't let a simple baby that needs help to fight his battle demand anything from me. Unless you prove me wrong."

Ori gathered courage once more

"Well then…"

Ori assumes a fighting stance he just created.

Reem laughs at Ori's posture.

"I challenge you to a duel. You give me what I want if I win, You get what you want if I lose. Sounds good to you?"

Reem was slightly amused

"Ori, my dear. You don't need to do that! Reem is known as a fighter! This is what he wants!"

"Oh my, the kid wants to join me in the afterlife? Veeery well then…"

Reem assumes a fighting stance

Ori had never fought a battle like this before. Normally Sein used to kill any creature that could harm him, but this time it would be different. This fight was something that Ori needed to prove something to himself. Not to Reem.

Ori did know something about fighting head to head. While being held, he could see Reem's memories and learned what he could in the meantime.

"Please… do not fight! I beg you!" Sein said

Reem charges in going for another punch, aiming for the face.

He had no technique at all. Just rushing in praying that his attack would hit. Ori dodges his fist without leaving the place. Ori grabs his arm and throws him into the ground.

Ori takes distance. Reem grunts and gets up.

Reem charges once more, but something was different. Ori realized he wouldn't just scream to hit his face. Ori actually couldn't say what he would do. Upon getting in melee range, Reem stood still, Ori was ready to defend himself.

"Do not play the fool, you cannot face that owl…" Reem said

Ori gets distracted by his words. Reem began to throw in many punches. Ori tried to block them all but took 3 punches: one in the face, shoulder, and belly. The impact stuns Ori, but he still manages to keep his posture.

"You are fighting a lost cause. None of us could stop her rage. How do you guarantee anything?"

Ori did not know how to answer.

Reem attacks again, with one single punch this time. Ori blocks but the impact still did the damage and knocked him back

"Answer me!"

Another attack, another single punch. Ori was still feeling the previous blows. The pain started to bother, making it difficult to move properly.

Ori dodges the attack, Reem hits the air and quickly goes to another punch. Ori focused on dodging, ignoring the pain, and taking distance. Reem kept chasing and attacking. The two begin to dance while battling, each second Ori could feel the pain getting worse. Reem would not relent, getting faster and faster. Determined to hurt the last spirit of Nibel. Reem manages to hit Ori in the face again. He takes a moment.

"Come on. You said you would fight me. You are just running like a coward."

Ori kneels and breathes heavily. Reem feels like wasting time.

"Fine, Okay. I'll let you play your game, gonna make things easier for you. Since you can't fight me, I'll take the defensive. If you hit me once, you win. Sounds good to you?"

Ori looks up to Reem, he stands thinking to be superior. Ori was just a child before a fighter.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Ori asks, changing his behavior. "Beating someone who doesn't know how to fight yet. Do you take pride in such low actions?"

Reem remains in silence.

"Do not treat me as a child! You may have more experience, but it is I who have a mission to save you and our home! Our duel still stands! I won't leave this place without you!"

"Bring it on."

Challenged, Reem gets serious. He had to make sure…

Ori charges forward. Reem does the same. They clash and trade blows at each other.

Sein was suffering as much as Ori was fighting. She wanted to intervene. But Ori wouldn't want that, he was determined to face his battle. Sein couldn't take it from him.

Ori manages to read his movements better. Still getting hit from time to time, he gets up every time he falls. Also attacking in any way he could. Ori tries to counterattack using Reem explosive movements. As he would launch his fist forward, he would be vulnerable before taking his stance again. during this short moment, Ori dodges his attack and strikes his torso. Reem tries to recover, pulling back his arm quickly. Ori holds his arm with one hand and uppercuts on Reem's chin. The punch knocks him into the ground, Ori continues and get on top of Reem, punching his face many more times.

"Enough!" Sein flew between the two. "This duel is over!"

Reem was still on the ground trying to recover. Ori stood victorious upon his opponent. But he still did not give up yet

"Not bad, I guess…" Reem got up. "Hey Sein, you know I'm not finished yet, right? If you try to interrupt like that again, who knows what could happen"

Reem pushes Sein away.

Ori could not believe he still wanted more. He was acting different

"Hey, Ori… Survive just one more attack and I surrender. Think you can do that?"

"What are you planning? We fought for long enough."

"Not long enough. This is where the fun begins. You wanted my wisdom, didn't you?

Reem takes a good look at Ori's serious face.

"Then, I will show you my wisdom."

Reem picks up a small rock on the ground.

Sein's light started to glow stronger.

"Do you see where we are? This is the great Ginso Tree, home of the water element of Nibel. If you could heal the waters, it would be a step forward to anger Kuro again. Do you think you have a chance against her?"

Once again, Ori did not know how to answer.

"Of course not, none of us could… Then why… why are you so different?"

"Do you know why I turned myself into this tree? We spirits are given a choice by our creator, the Spirit Tree. Which is to return to him and be reborn, or keep our memories and hopes in our resting place, by doing that, another spirit can inherit our entire lives as their own. Our skills, feelings, and thoughts! Everything is inherited by this little ritual: comfort the spirit inside the tree, and you can absorb his or her light. Learn everything they have to offer, a gift that we will eternally share upon those who came to rescue us. It is sickening."

Reem pauses to breathe.

"As the Spirit Tree is weakened I couldn't return to it. My only choice was to wait here, wait for someone to steal my lifetime of training like nothing. We can't choose who will inherit the fallen. The next jerk who could appear wouldn't give a shit by who I was or what I did in life. But they would devour my light like a black hole, not giving a single damn in return. But gladly, it doesn't matter anything now. Nobody would find me, meaning I would remain here and be tormented for eternity. A good end for me huh? I guess not. That's why I died here because you would be the only one to find me.

Ori steps forward

"You talk too much Reem. If you don't want to give me your wisdom, fine by me. But I won't leave you here, and by that, you already know the rest of the story. If it's any consolation to you, I won't make use of your abilities. As long as you don't reveal them to me, I won't be able to use them."

Reem laughs.

"My wish was to return to the tree. Nobody deserves the bash ability. I created it for myself and nobody else. Just the thought of someone using my abilities drives me insane. But due to our circumstances, I could have a good look at my "savior". At least make sure I wouldn't be treated like trash"

Ori gets slightly pissed.

"I am the one getting treated like trash here!"

"Serves you right" Reem spits on the ground.

"Damn you…" Ori was now fully pissed.

"I have decided already… If you truly wish to restore our forest. You will have to deal with her first, or at least, deceive her… I will teach you, or just gift you the technique to dash in the air using anything that has light or could be harmful to you."

Sein's light glows even stronger.

Reem throws the rock up. As it started to fall, he jumped to it and kicked it in Ori's direction

Sein blasts the rock before it could hit Ori.

It happened in a flash. He jumped and that little rock almost killed Ori, if weren't for Sein...

"Reem! Do that again and you will never have redemption!" Sein was furious.

"What did you do?" Ori asked

Reem laughs once again.

"Even a simple and small rock can become a dangerous projectile when launched with enough strength. It's called Bash. Do you see the lanterns all around us?"

Ori just notices the lanterns. Were they there the entire time?

"I have built them and placed them in so many places. They have the primary function to work as a lantern, but as it has a light, I can bash from them. I have placed so, so many of them around Nibel, and even further."

"Reem, you've changed" Ori notices.

"Shut up"

Ori shuts it.

"The bash is essentially a jump where you launch yourself using the environment light or anything harmful. Even the corrupted creatures. In any direction you want. The object launched will move to the opposite direction you go, except for stuck objects, they will not move. This is a precise and agile movement. You won't need to worry to learn the tricks of the technique, once you inherit it from me, you will already know how to do it as naturally as you breathe."

Ori was truly in relief by seeing Reem done with his madness.

"I am not apologizing from before. Rather I wanted to make you suffer more and break your head on the ground." Reem got closer. "I'm giving my entire being to you thanks to Sein, I wanted you to rot here with me."

Reem takes some distance.

"Now come, take your wisdom" Reem offers a handshake to Ori.

As Ori approaches.

"Keep your guard up. You haven't heard the last of me."

Ori and Reem shake hands.

"And one last thing: do not try to bash Kuro, don't make the same mistake as I did"

Reem's form dissipates, his tree blooms with white flowers. His presence was gone.

A few moments go by

Ori sits on the ground, exhausted.

Sein flies closer.

"Ori, you must be tired after this. Do you want to rest?"

"Yes… I feel so much pain from his punches… Ow."

"Let me heal you, it will reduce the pain."

"Don't worry I'm fine. I want to feel this pain, I want to remember it. I think there will be far worse things ahead."

Sein understands and doesn't heal him.

Ori moves closer to the Reem's tree, he lays down under it and tries to sleep. But first…

"What about you Sein? Come join me. You should rest too"

"I don't need it, my dear, I am fine"

"I'll give you my tail."

Her light flashed a bit, losing her own words.

"Wha w- Why? NO! I mean, No, thank you. I will keep guard as you sleep"

"This is his resting place, this tree stood here for years and still is intact. Reem chose a safe spot to rest. There are no dangers in here"

"Well yes… but-"

"No buts, just come here" Ori shakes his tail trying to pull her attention.

Sein kept flashing for a moment.

"I said no. I am not sleepy nor in need to recharge. Just go to sleep already, or we will get moving."

"Okay, good night Sein."

...

A few minutes go by.

Sein wondered if the pain could be bothering his sleep, so she went to check on him.

Sein flys closer to look at Ori. Her fear proved to be wrong. He was sleeping peacefully. All curled up, meaning to keep his body temperature and also to protect himself. She remembers the last time Ori did the same thing but he pulled her in the middle of his curled up position. That felt quite good, she confesses.

As she kept flashing and thinking at that moment, Ori moves and sleeps on his back. Revealing his belly and looking like a cat. Sein takes some distance, hovers still in the air for a moment, and begins to quickly fly in circles.

…

Hours after.

Ori wakes up slowly and before getting up he looks around. He doesn't see Sein. Trying to get up he feels a resistance to move his tail. Upon checking, there she was… He had found a gold mine.

Her glowing light normally is more intense. As she is not flying means that she is resting or is weakened. As for now, it's clear that it is the first option, and as she sleeps her light loses a ton of brightness. That's one good quality of life for those around her.

"Well, look at you…"

Sein wakes up and starts flying.

"Wait! This is not what you think." She defended herself

Ori doesn't feel like teasing her, instead, he comforts her.

"Sein, I don't know much about your story, but I feel you never had a caring mother or father to hug in times past. Don't be ashamed, we all need something to comfort our souls in times like this. If I can provide it please don't hesitate in asking"

Sein was embarrassed.

"Ah, ahn… I..."

"There is no need to explain Sein. I slept cuddling with my mother many times. There is no shame in doing that, even to a wisp. We all need the feeling of affection"

Sein felt defeated, her blue glowing light could turn to a tomato red at any moment. She flies in circles a few more times before regaining control over her emotions.

Ori moves closer to one of the lanterns hanging around the place

"So Sein, It seems I can use the bash to move over some dangers up ahead. Let me try practicing on these lanterns here."

Sein stops flying around and goes close to Ori.

"That is a good idea. Do you remember how the ability works? I can explain it to you again if you wish"

"Thanks, but no need. I still remember how he did it"

Ori had an easy objective, to reach and hold a branch on the top of the room. The branch was so high up and on the ceiling that no double jump or climbing could help. He had to bash a lantern and launch himself up there.

"Okay… I just jump, focus on kicking the light in the lantern, and choose the way I want to go… Simple enough"

Ori jumps and does the same pose Reem did before. With arms behind and bent legs to kick it and launch himself

In a flash, Ori vanishes. Sein calls for him and does a quick search, she finds him hugging a wall. He probably didn't aim correctly.

"That must have hurt, you okay there?"

Ori makes some incoherent sounds.

"I'll take that as a yes. Try again"

Ori peels himself off the wall, moving to try again. He jumps in the same way but notices something different this time. He realizes he stops in time for a moment, after realizing it he launches himself against a wall again.

"Again? This should be easy for you no?"

"I GOT IT!" Ori understood how Reem did it

Sein was slightly scared

"Oh really?"

"In that instant moment, if I concentrate enough, I can measure the direction and distance of the bash, I must try that again"

He positions himself again. This time he was more confident and raised to the lantern, he bashes it and…

"I did it!" Ori shouts while holding the branch on the ceiling.

Sein flies up there.

"Hurray! Congrats Ori!"

"It is so awesome. This ability is something beyond anything I could imagine, and there is much more about it than just launching myself." Ori pauses and goes back to the ground. 'I'm glad I could prove my worth to him…"

Sein knew that Reem would give him the bash no matter what. Somehow she could not anticipate his explosive and aggressive behavior. It was much worse from what she remembers of him years ago. His attitudes could have cost much more than just the end of Nibel, Sein would certainly talk to him again once her powers are restored.

"Let's get moving Ori. The ginso heart still awaits us"

Ori takes a deep breath, and they leave behind Reem's tree.

Thanks to him, the bash saved Ori from many troubles and allow him to reach much harder places. He learned to bash from projectiles. There were many fireball flowers and he used them to redirect the projectile path to where he wanted. Many challenges with thorns everywhere would be impossible without lanterns. Ori used them to keep on climbing. The waygates started to follow a single path, instead of having many taking to many random directions, it was just one every time. The waygate was the only way to climb further the ginso tree.

They reach a small room with many thorns all around, one little platform on the middle and the waygate to the other side.

"No lanterns in here. Let's just get through, nothing much to worry." Ori says

Ori enters the room, Sein begins to follow.

A stone door slides down and separates Ori and Sein. Also closing the path ahead.

Ori was stuck inside the room without Sein.

"Sein? Are you okay?"

"I am okay!" She answers from the other side of the door. "Ori, this is Reem's doing! It's a trap!".

"What?" A Vile shooter erupts from the thorns and spits at the spirit.

Ori notices it in time managing to dodge.

"Ori!, This door has the same symbol Reem had on his forehead! He is still testing you! The door will only open after you defeat the enemy!"

The vile shooter shoots again. Ori understood what he had to do, he must use the bash to save himself and kill the shooter. This time, without Sein to safeguard him.

Ori bashes the spit in the wrong direction, he had to aim carefully at the beast, and not get himself launched on thorns.

"Damn you, Reem… You are something else indeed" Ori said to himself.

The shooter goes into hiding. Ori jumps to the small platform at the center of the room.

Pissed, Ori taunts the creature.

"Come on! Bring it!"

Sein charged her light to blast the stone door. But it did not work. Her light did not affect it. She started to panic.

Ori was focused on defeating the shooter. He feared to launch himself at the thorns, as the shooter won't give him a safe angle to hit it and stay in the platform. Ori had to risk it, that was the only way to kill the shooter.

The shooter reappears at the worst place possible. It was on the ceiling on the far right side of the room. As thorns covered the ground and ceiling except for the platform that Ori stands, he couldn't aim it back to it without going for the thorns under him.

"Think I am scared? Eat your acid" Ori bashes the spit with maximum potency to make it reach back to the shooter, and so he goes with the same speed to the thorns. He regains control and double jumps back to the platform.

He felt proud to make good use of his inherent abilities. The shooter is hit and goes back to hiding in pain. That was not enough. The shooter will make it harder from here.

The shooter would appear again somewhere within the thorns. Ori noticed it always appearing in a pattern, he creates a plan. The shooter spits and immediately hides, without giving chance to be hit again. Ori bashes the spit again, but as the shooter couldn't be hit under the thorns, he bashed it upwards with little strength. Keeping himself safe in the platform and juggling the spit in the air.

Every 5 seconds after hiding the shooter appears in its next location, it kept shooting. Ori kept juggling which was now a massive spit. Ori could confirm his theory and would know where the shooter could appear. In the next 5 seconds, the shooter should die. Ori aims at the location where it will next appear.

Ori launches the massive spit. The ball of acid splashes hitting almost the entire room, he double jumps back to the platform and tries to hide from the acid next to the stone door.

"Ori! Whats is happening in there!? Are you okay?!" Sein was almost bursting with concern.

She hears Ori screaming.

"Ori!" Sein charges her light enough to blast the entire room, but as soon as she gets to do it the doors start to open. Her first sight is seeing Ori struggling on the ground, the acid had hit his right arm."

Sein starts to heal him without thinking. As she cares for his wound, Ori begins to calm down.

"Thank you…" he speaks slowly.

Sein was emotionally in relief to see him alive

"It is I who should thank you. I was so concerned!" She was almost crying. "You need to be more responsible for your battles! Do not risk yourself like that, what will happen if you go beyond what my light can heal?"

Ori remained in silence, he heard the truth in Sein's words. He did not know how to answer.

Sein checks his vital organs and breathing. In relief, everything is alright, the acid didn't do that much damage in such a short time. His fur and skin were damaged, and it would leave a big scar. Sein needed more time to heal and cure the scar, she did not want her spirit to be stained for a vile creature, she will restore his arm at all costs. The pain made it difficult for him to stand still. So Sein made him sleep. That would give her time and control the pain.

A few minutes go by

Ori coughs and wakes up. He remembers his right arm burning by the acid. It was now completely healed.

Sein stood guard while he slept

"You're awake!" Sein slams herself on Ori's belly.

Ori smiles and thinks to himself. "What would become of me without you…"

"Do not worry me like that please."

"I'm sorry."

Sein began to fly again.

"You're healed. And we must complete our mission"

"Yes. Let's keep moving"

Ori looks at the room where he fought the shooter. The scent was so bad and the thorns were almost destroyed with that acid. The platform was also gone. The distance to move forward was a bit too great to double jump, and there was no lantern to bash from.

"How am I going to make this jump? This pit of thorns is too big. I can't jump there."

Sein quickly thinks in a solution.

"Ori, I will shoot a slow-moving projectile and you can bash from it"

"Great idea. I am ready"

Sein shot a slow ball of light in the room Ori jumps to it and bashes to the waygate. They proceed further. The next room they see has a stairway of lanterns with thorns everywhere. The rot was more intense than ever before, they were close.

"Look at this… There is nowhere to walk. The thorns cover everything from here to who knows where" Ori observes the room

"Yes… But look there. A stairway of Reem's lanterns. We can use them to go up."

Ori prepares himself to jump and bash all the way up. After bashing the first lantern, he repeating the same process until they arrive at the heart of the Ginso.

Ori celebrates in rejoice and satisfaction. "Never bashed so much before. That was fun!"

"Ori, we have reached the heart of the Ginso tree!"

Ori looks up and sees a massive sphere completely covered in rot and decay.

"The heart of the Ginso tree once kept the elements of water safe. But now its corrupted, foul, and decayed." Sein said.

Sein circles the great heart of the Ginso. She notices something and goes back to Ori.

"I saw something up there, It looked like a tumor…" Sein looks at Ori.

"Don't be disgusted"

Ori already was.

"We have to help it! Cure it and cleanse all the blight by removing the corruption on both sides, I can blast the tum-"

"Don't say it"

"The weak spot of the blight! Why are you so easily disgusted?"

"Do not test me. I can throw up right here and now if you say that word again"

"Fine. Let's get up there and blast both weak spots"

They needed to climb a quite a short path one to the right of the heart and the other to the left. Both paths had many spiders and hostile creatures. the spiders, they were crazy beings, shooting webs everywhere. They did not want to kill the spirit but wanted to wrap up Ori and take him away to their nest. Sein wouldn't allow that, they must all burn.

"Hey, Sein! Stop using so much energy! it's just spiders!"

"Just spiders!? Do you even see their behavior when they see you? Oh no no no, I won't allow that. They will burn and I ain't going to save up any energy if that's the case!"

Ori was just curious, the spiders truly get weird when they see him. That's probably is not how a spider would behave on the sight of distress, Is it the influence of the decay? They get all shaky and bouncy around him. Why is that? Maybe he should get close to one? Maybe they don't want to harm, they-

 **Sein:** No.

Okay. So the duo managed to clean the left side of the heart.

 **Ori:** Look! The blight of the left side is gone!

And now the right side. There are many more spiders again.

Sein purges all living creatures' on sight with an omega laser beam of light.

 **Sein:** No more spiders!

 **Ori:** HOLY ****! How do you do that?!

Anyways, they reach the second weak spot...

"Come Sein. Do it before I puke…"

"You know what? I can fix that disgust of yours. Come closer and look down"

"I know what you are trying to do. Zapping my head hurts and I don't want to feel that again"

Ori crosses his arms and looks away from Sein. She, on the other hand, flies closer and still zaps him

"Ow!" Ori scratches his head. "I said to not do that"

"You're fine now, look at it"

Ori looks at a tumor of corruption and doesn't feel disgusted, but he feels hungry

"Looks so tasty…"

"What? Hmm, maybe I hit the wrong switch. Forgive me"

She zaps him in the head again.

"I'm gonna be mad if you don't stop doing that. It hurts so bad"

Ori still gets disgusted by such sight but can control his spontaneous need to puke.

"Yeah, that will do. I won't zap you again, breath easy"

Sein blasts the tumor and the blight starts to undo itself.

"Now let's get back down there" Sein suggested.

They go down where they can see the heart. The corruption has been removed, The massive sphere had many vines holding it in place, and the heart itself looked alive. Completely red and hurt, but still alive.

"We can heal the heart, Ori! And with the waters cleansed. There will be two more to go."

"Finally, we went through a lot to get here. What are we waiting for?" Ori asks Sein. "Do your magic."

Sein flies up to the heart and starts to shine. The light builds up for a long moment and flashes in a shockwave.

The reddish color the heart had was now a glowing and gentle blue. Sein managed to heal the Ginso Tree. She flies back to Ori.

"It's done! Now the waters can flow once more!"

The heart was dripping with the purest water on them. Slowly increasing the amount of water that falls.

Ori drinks the water dripping from the heart.

"So good! Been a while since I drank some water"

Waters started to erupt from their surroundings and falling like waterfalls. the Ginso was unleashing everything at once.

"Wow. Look at all that water! It's so pretty" Ori said

"Yes… But something is off…" Sein was insecure.

"What do we do now? Ori asked

The water started to rage below them, it was quickly rising and flooding the entire tree.

Sein realizes they would die if they stay any longer.

"Ori! We must go now!"

"What's wrong Sein?"

"The water! It will kill us! We must run to the top! It's the only exit!"

Ori hears the water breaking through below him. He senses danger.

"What…?"

"GO! QUICKLY!"

Ori starts to climb and bashing the lanterns close to him. He goes up and the torrent of water was quickly closing on them.

"Go faster! The water is catching up!" Sein warned

Ori speeds up. They go as fast as they could. Many obstacles still awaited them.

A wall of thorns blocked Ori and he had no way to climb it

"What do we do!?"

"Bash from my proje-" A vile shooter erupted from above interrupting Sein

"Hey, you! Shoot at me! Come on!"

The shooter does it and Ori bashes the spit to reach higher ground. He evades the thorns. He keeps on climbing

The waters were dangerously close

"Don't look down! Just keep climbing Ori!" Sein said

They spot many waygates.

"Waygates!" Ori points out. "Think they are safe to use?"

Sein remembers a trick for her to use.

"I will make them safe!"

She flies ahead of Ori and shines on the glowing gate.

"Come! Enter the waygate!"

Ori enters the waygate. Appearing somewhere above all the other valuable distance from the waters.

"Amazing…"

"Keep running!"

Sein was getting tired, she had used a lot of energy to heal the Ginso heart. She doesn't say it to Ori.

As they kept climbing they collide with the most difficult obstacle.

Spiders made a thick layer of webbing on the only path Ori could take. Sein has to make a difficult decision: She could blast the spiders and their webbing, but the passage would take a few seconds to burn open. Time was something they could not spare at the moment. Or she could risk herself and buy her spirit more valuable time.

She chooses the second option.

"What do we do? Can you kill them, Sein?" Ori notices Sein was gone.

"Sein!?"

Ori looks up and sees the trail of light she left behind. She was flying upwards at great speed.

Ori calls to her. As she keeps distancing from her spirit, she quickly loses her energy and is greatly weakened. Her glow was almost gone. She stops at a safe spot closer to the exit.

"Not yet!" She says to herself "I can still do much more!" She charged her light with great intensity.

With all her remaining strength, Sein teleports Ori to her. Lightless, she falls on the ground.

"Where am I? Sein?!" Ori sees the wisp weakened on the ground. He quickly runs to her.

"Sein! Why did you do that?! There had to be another way!"

Sein once more gave Ori a valuable time by distancing him from the raging waters. It was getting faster with every second.

"Ori…" She tries to speak. "Go… leave me. Restore the forest. You must live. Live for me..."

Ori was shocked by hearing her words.

"Like hell, I would leave you! Hold on! I'll take us out of this place. The exit is so close. Please, Sein, hold on!

Ori wraps Sein in his tail.

"Bear with me for now! I must use my hands to climb!"

Sein remained in silence, her weak light still flashes slightly from his kind words

Ori recovers his momentum going at full speed. The waters quickly closing in. He dodged thorns, vile shooters, and other dangers while jumping and bashing through the air. He was almost there.

"I will not leave you here!" Ori shouts

Lanterns would aid him in the final moments before reaching the exit. He just had to bash the lanterns to live another day.

Spiders descended on their webs, shooting webs at the spirit.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" Ori yells.

If the spiders could stop his momentum, it would be his end.

They shooted many webs at the spirit. Ori bashes it moving towards the exit. He goes through the spiders, leaving them behind. They kept shooting.

One web shot hits Ori's legs, gluing them together. Ori starts to fall but hugs the wall holding himself in place. He couldn't bash to the exit. Then he would just climb.

"I am… Almost there…!"

With all his might he climbed with just his arms, keeping balance with his glued legs. Just a few centimeters to reach the top, the waters almost catching up, he climbs and grabs the ledge of the exit, pulling himself up with difficulty.

The waters catch up and push him up as the Ginso Tree erupts. Ori flies high in the night skies. He lands at the side of the eruption. Safe for the time being, they had survived to see another day…

Ori was stunned by the impact of the fall. Still holding Sein tightly in his tail, he recovers taking off the webs from his legs and picks her up.

"Look, Sein, we did it! The waters are restored and we are alive!"

"Splendid job my dear" she pauses for a moment. "forgive me for my selflessness words."

"You are forgiven. Just rest now. I am here with you." Ori hugs Sein tight.

It was a blessing to see the waters flowing once more. The rain from the eruption gives a relaxing feeling. They were safe.

Sein begins to fly by herself.

"Hey, don't force yourself. Come here and rest on me"

"Do not worry, I can at least fly now. I want to feel the waters."

Ori and Sein go close to the water. The eruption had calmed down. The waters were flowing down to the land below.

"Drink it, my dear. This is the purest water you will ever taste."

And so Ori drinks it. He feels overjoyed and keeps drinking more.

Sein bathes herself on the waters.

"Can the water heal too? I feel so good just by drinking it" Ori comments

Sein laughs a little

"No. These waters don't heal, but they can sure refresh your soul"

A few moments go by.

Ori was sitting on the edge of the Ginso Tree talking to Sein. They were looking over the entire forest of Nibel and even further.

"You enjoyed the embrace of my tail. Say it"

Sein takes a moment, flashing a bit.

"Yes, I loved it" She confesses. "I said it, are you happy?"

Ori can't contain the greatest smile he ever had.

"Very much!" He replies

As they enjoy the moment, a lightning lits the night skies.

Ori and Sein get startled by the lightning and they notice a moving silhouette on the other far end of the Ginso Tree.

A gigantic owl.

The owl screeches extremely loud and takes flight. It lands close to Ori.

"It can't be…" Sein says

"Sein, please don't tell me-"

"It's her… Kuro!."

*Lightning strikes*

As Sein said her name Ori froze in fear.

Kuro steps closer to the spirit. Slowly approaching.

"Ori-" Sein fails to speak. She was also scared She didn't know what to do"

Kuro's eyes were burning with hatred in a white glow. Her piercing glare won't let the spirit move.

Sein felt she needed to save Ori in that exact instant. Kuro will kill him as she did to the other spirits. Sein was not recovered to do anything to buy her an advantage yet.

*Lightning strikes*

…

"Do not play the fool, you cannot face that owl..."

…

Ori remembers the words Reem had said. He now understands. He now sees what they have seen. The owl that brought death and carnage to the forest.

Time felt like he was not moving at all. They all were frozen in time forever. But Sein managed to leave the paralysis.

Sein quickly flew in front of Ori and shone with the most intense flash she could. Trying to blind the dark owl.

Kuro reacts and flaps her wings, creating a huge gust of wind pushing everything from the Ginso Tree. Ori is pushed and many things also flew with him, Sein could hold herself, but a broken branch hits Ori in the head with too much strength.

Ori faints from the impact and falls from the highest tree in Nibel

Sein shouts the spirit's name, quickly chasing after him.

And so does Kuro.

Sein sees her spirit unconscious. Completely vulnerable. The fall itself will kill him. Sein couldn't use any of her powers as she wasn't yet restored. His fate rests upon Sein once again. Ori lives and dies on what Sein decides.

Kuro appears in the distance, diving in to kill.

*Lightning strikes*

"I will not let you take him!" Sein shouts to the dark owl

Kuro was quickly getting closer.

Sein charges every fiber of her being to protect Ori. This will be her last charged flame.

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HIM!"

*Lightning strikes*


	6. After the Storm

"It was the light she hated, the light of our kind"

"But Ori kindness would once again save my child"

…

…

*Footsteps*

…

*Footsteps*

"Gumo gumo."

*Footsteps*

…

…

*Gumo, gumo…*

...

Ori grunts as he tries to wake up. Slowly recovering. Soon he finds himself on the Thornfelt Swamp.

He sees Sein weakened close to him, he observes his surrounding, he was still scared, where is Kuro? What happened?

Panic took hold of his mind, but he is still alive. He punches himself to see if he's not dreaming, luckily he feels pain and it was not a dream. What the hell happened? He stood face to face with death itself, and somehow he survived? He looks at Sein again.

"Sein!" He pokes her.

She doesn't answer.

"Hey Sein, wake up!"

While staying close to her, Ori observes his surrounding once more: great waterfalls come down from the top of the ginso, green and blue could be seen everywhere in the scenario. The two colors painted everything his eye could see, forming a beautiful landscape. Clean waters all around. He just notices, they were on a small island, all the art of the place calmed his heart.

Sein's light flashes, she was waking up. Ori lets her take her time to recover.

"Ori…?" She called frightened.

She tries to fly, but she doesn't have the energy to do it, she hops and moves on the ground with difficulty.

"I am here, Sein." Ori revealed himself to her.

Her weak light shines and blinks as she is lifted closer to him. She was overwhelmed in happiness by seeing her spirit alive.

"Thank the light…" She sobs. " I thought I had lost you…"

In an embrace, they appease the terror of last night and thank the skies for the unknown miracle.

They were alive, the waters cleansed, their first journey completed. They see a new day dawn.

…

After a while, they calm down. Sein could fly by herself again.

"Look, Ori, with the Ginso restored, all water in Nibel is clean once more."

Now calm, Ori could finally behold the beauty of the waters.

"You can swim if you want." Sein tells him

"Really?!" He gets excited.

"Yes, please, go ah-" Water splashes on her.

The spirit dives and enjoys the embrace of the waters, he takes his time and swims to his heart content. Sein can see him swimming as the clear waters could allow. He goes back to the surface.

"Sein, join me! The water is great!" He invites her.

"No need my dear, I am fine here"

Ori takes a moment to think...

"Hey Sein, look what I found." He shows his hands.

"What is it?" Sein asked.

Sein does not understand what was shown and goes closer to analyze.

"Got you!" Ori surprises her with a sudden grab.

They dive splashing water all around.

"Ori! Why did you do that?"

Ori gets surprised seeing her speak underwater. He tries to speak too.

But instead of talking, he swallows a lot of water and panics at the moment. Sein laughs seeing his reaction and water drinking skills, she takes him back to surface

Ori gasps for air and coughs a lot. Sein softly laughs at his stress.

"No fun!" He splashes water. "How can you speak underwater?"

"A wisp never reveals her secrets."

"Aw, come on, I challenge you to an underwater race!"

Sein was amused.

"Oh really?"

"Bring it on! If I win you teach me how to talk underwater, if I lose I do anything you want."

Sein was even more amused.

"My dear, if you lose, you will chop off your tail"

He felt a shiver running up his spine, he truly got scared.

"Very well then, I acce-"

"Never mind that!” Ori had a change of mind. “I don't need to talk underwater anyway, forget the race! I am fine like this"

Ori goes back underwater, Sein kept watching him flashing a bit.

They enjoy the waters for a little longer

…

Awhile later...

"Hey Ori, playtime is over. Time to leave the waters."

Ori leaves the water completely soaked and notices his fur so heavy.

“I feel so heavy!” Ori said so cheerful.

Sein chuckles. “It’s because your fur holds a lot of water. Try shaking it off to feel better.”

“Shaking it off?” Ori repeated perplexed.

“Hm? You don't know how to shake the water off?”

Ori stays quiet and tilts his head confused. Sein finds his reaction rather cute and realizes that Naru always dried him after their bathtimes.

“I see.” Sein said caringly. “Come closer dear, I’ll dry your fur.”

Sein glows stronger and the air around feels warmer. Somehow Ori was insecure about going closer.

“Don't be scared. This may be fairly different from what you’re used to, but still results in drying your fur. Just come closer and relax, I will take care of you.”

Ori let go of his insecurity and trusted Sein. He doesn't have any reasons to doubt her and so he steps closer and enters her bubble of warmth. A caring and warm breeze blows all around. It felt good and soon Ori relaxed. Allowing Sein to complete her task more easily.

Ori lays down and stretches to a side to another enjoying the bubble of warmth. Sein almost could hear  a low continuous vibratory sound  coming from Ori but did not pay more attention to it.

Sein soon was immersed in thoughts. She wanted to give him this moment, to allow him to relax. He played all morning until late in the afternoon. His mood was certainly restored, but she had to remind him of something"

While Sein dried his fur, she pulled his attention.

"Hey, Ori."

"Yes?"

"Do you remember last night?"

The memories of last night come back like an avalanche.

"Yes, I remember..."

"Are you scared?"

Ori doesn't answer

"You saw first hand the danger we are running… By fighting for our forest, we risk ourselves to face her again."

Ori remains in silence

"We must prepare for our next encounter, we won't be so lucky next time"

"I don't want to face her ever again." Ori replied.

Sein takes a moment.

"Look around Ori, thanks to your courage, we restored the waters. If we didn't risk ourselves up there in the Ginso tree, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the waters today, you would never swim like you did today."

"Yes, but… You saw how scary she is" Ori added up.

"She is indeed.” Sein agreed. “However, we must not waver. We need to learn more about her, so we can find a way to defend ourselves. If we can go through her, we can do anything."

Ori didn't say anything, he was lost in thoughts.

"And don't forget, we still need to restore the two remaining elements. We must make haste to the next one."

"What will be the next element?" Ori asked.

"The element of wind. It is located deep within the Forlorn Ruins"

Sein finishes drying Ori's fur.

"Which also has an artifact to open." Ori observes

"Indeed it has, it is the Gumon Seal"

Ori gets curious hearing the artifact's name

"The Gumon Seal? Is Gumo related to it?"

Sein then explains...

"Not to Gumo, but his race created it many years ago. It is located within the Misty Woods"

"Misty Woods? I don't like the sound of that."

"I can understand why.” Sein said. “The Misty Woods are a large expanse of dark forest found to the very west of Nibel's borders. A place eternally shrouded in black, many creatures of Nibel have ventured inside and never returned."

Ori was now terrified...

"I don't want to go to that place!"

"We don't have a choice here you know, the artifact is there and so we shall take it"

"I don't wanna!" He refuses like a spoiled child and dives on the waters

Sein feels furious.

"WHO SAID- Ahem. Who said you could go back to the water?! I hope you suffer from the cold once you leave because I am not drying you up this time."

He keeps on swimming and ignores Sein.

Sein lets out a huge sigh.

"Children…"

"I could have worded that differently, said it's a magical place, with rainbows, delicious food, and a playground. But no, say that is a dark place, shrouded in black… good job me!

“How am I going to make him go there now?" Sein asked herself.

She spends a good time thinking and gets one stupid idea, maybe it could work.

"Hey, Ori! I have something to tell you!"

Ori stops swimming and goes to the surface

"I said I am not going there!"

"But listen to me first. If you aid me finding the gumon seal, I will teach you how to speak and breath underwater! Sounds cool right?"

"You won't fool me! You can't do that." Ori replied, turning his back on her.

Sein’s idea fails miserably.

"After everything you saw, you don't believe me? You make me sad..."

Sein tries another approach.

"Okay then, stay in the water, I'll be going alone"

Ori looks back at Sein.

"You can't leave me, you will just hurt yourself"

He had a point.

"Goodbye, Ori." Sein flashes and hides from his sight

Bothered by the flash Ori searches for Sein while in the water. He tries to act safely like nothing is happening, but quickly he started thinking that Sein had left him behind"

"Hey Sein, come on out" He called.

She is nowhere to be found.

"Come on out, this is not funny!" He splashes water.

*Silence*

"Sein!?"

The night was almost arriving, the water got much colder, the winds blowing could cut through his skin.

"I'm sorry Sein, I will leave the water. It's getting really cold anyway, come dry me up please."

In hiding, Sein feels the weight of his words. She did not want him to be cold or get him worried, it was a cruel method to persuade a child.

Ori leaves the water and shivers of cold due the winds blowing. He searches for her up and down, runs in the direction she could have gone, calling for her all the time.

Sein began to suffer hearing his search for her. She couldn't stand this anymore.

"Sein! Pl-please, come back. Don't leave me!" He began to cry.

She finally reveals herself

"Okay okay okay, I am here, I am so sorry, let me warm you up, my dear."

His eyes sparkle in relief, Sein did not abandon him, she came back...

"Please forgive me, Ori. I won't do such thing ever again.” Sein shelters him from the winds.

Sein works hard to atone for what she had done. The winds were much colder than usual and his body temperature dropped to alarming levels. The risk of him suffering from hypothermia was close. Sein were careless and forgot about the forest’s state... the winds, are also unstable...

Sein warms and dries Ori’s fur caringly, seeking to redeem herself. A couple minutes goes by with silence between them.

"Hey Sein, I am going with you… I will go to the misty woods" Ori broke the silence.

Sein takes a moment, almost not believing of what she just heard.

"Really? What changed your mind?"

"This wind, is way too cold... if we restore them, will they be warmer?"

Sein makes another short pause, flashing a bit.

"The winds indeed are harshly blowing, they're a lot colder than before, it feels like a storm is coming every day. During the nights it can get merciless. In some places, there are no winds at all, not even a breeze. If we restore them, they will be warmer as well as kinder."

Ori was warmed and his fur dried.

"There, the cold won't bother you anymore."

The winds were rampaging outside their shelter.

"Let's relax for tonight, tomorrow we will depart to the misty woods, okay?"

"Okay" He answers. "Together we can do this, right?"

"Together, we can do anything" Sein replies.

Sein thinks to herself, has he forgotten about Kuro? He changed his mind rather faster than she would have imagined. Was the prank way too harsh? She hopes not, she apologized to him, but in any way, he created the courage to venture forth, he wants to restore the winds, that's all that matters.

They play and chat all night, they sleep preparing their minds to face the misty woods.


	7. The Deceiving Mists

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Biggest chapter of this story so far! Its quite special so thats why its so long lol.  
> Have a good read!

Ori and Sein were fully recovered from their day off. They understood that they had a great impact on the forest of Nibel by restoring the waters, but they should make haste, without the presence of light, the decay eats the forest little by little. It's just a matter of time until the corruption hits the Ginso tree again.

As Ori and Sein prepared to leave their shelter...

"The winds are fine now, let's use this opportunity to move and return to the Spirit Tree" Sein suggested.

"We're gonna return all the way?" Ori asked.

"Yes. From the Spirit Tree, we will travel to the west, from there we will reach the Valley of Wind"

"All right then."

They begin to leave the Thornfelt Swamps, they venture back to the Spirit Tree to reach the land where the wind no longer blows. How many creatures might live there? What dangers awaited for them in such a place? What could they expect as they brave the mists?

For their luck, they did not find the huge malformed slugs again, nor the vile shooters, not even a weird spider. It was strange, where did they all go? They move swiftly and reach the Sunken Glades, which is also free from creatures. Silence dominated the land for some unknown reason.

"Ori, wait a moment." Sein asked

"What is it? It's pretty empty here isn't it?"

"Yes... Something is wrong…"

...

"Hide! Now!" Sein warns her spirit.

They hear her screech...

Kuro lands close to them, creating a huge shockwave. She scans the area hunting the light. As she doesn't find anything, she takes flight and goes away

Sein comes out of hiding, still looking at the direction Kuro went.

"Are you okay Ori?" She looks at him

Ori was shaking and sitting down.

"My dear, please calm down. Try to breathe slowly"

"Is she gone?" He asks, trembling in fear.

"Yes, now relax. Do a long and slow inhale, then exhale…"

Ori tries to calm down, he could hear her screech in his mind.

"I am fine, I'm fine." He said, still shaking.

Sein needed to do something. She uses her warming light hoping for the desired effect.

It's super effective. Ori begins to relax

"Relax, breathe easy. We will find a way out of this."

Her soothing warmth worked wonders.

"Thank you, I am better now."

The dark owl's sudden appearance was something to behold, which explains that no other creature could be seen in miles across the land. Kuro is hunting Ori and all other creatures won't fool around while she flies in her search.

"Let's move before she returns. We are almost at the Spirit Tree."

Ori and Sein sprint to the Spirit Tree. Arriving there, they should be safe from her.

"Here we are" Sein sees Ori exhausted "We are safe now, rest for a moment"

Ori lays on the ground catching his breath, he never thought he would run so fast in his entire life.

The Spirit Tree was in the same state before they left for the Ginso tree.

Ori takes his time and recovers. Upon looking at the Spirit Tree up close again, he wonders if it is still asleep. He ponders on how such a powerful being like him could be hurt by a dark owl. Ori asks Sein how the tree is doing, she doesn't say much but says that it will sleep until she returns to her throne, only then the tree will awaken and together with Sein, will cure the entire forest, banishing the decay. She then insists on guiding Ori to the Valley of Wind.

"This is the entrance to the valley." They stop by a glowing stone door

"What is this? A wall?" Ori asks

"Never mind this actually, I'll open the path"

Sein blasts the stone door, they now could enter the valley.

"Welcome to the Valley of Wind, this will place where we can access the Misty Woods."

Ori beholds his surroundings. Many trees that lost all of their leaves, many birds, in general, were nesting in every branch. The valley was quite vast and had a great mountain on the horizon.

"Where are we going from here?" Ori asks.

"We will go to that mountain over there, the Misty Woods lies just beyond." Sein replies.

Ori and Sein moved forward, the birds all stared to the spirit with a menacing gaze. He is not welcome in this place.

"Sein, why are the birds looking at me? What do they want?"

"They are not familiarized with you, my dear. They are victims of corruption as well. Be wary if they decide to attack."

Ori showed signs of discomfort and fear, it agitated the birds.

"Ah! They are moving!" Ori warned Sein.

The birds were still in their nests high in the trees, they were agitated but did not yet attack.

"I think they are trying to scare you, don't pay attention to them. If any of them tries anything I will protect you."

They continued moving, the birds still glaring with all their might.

"We are almost reaching the mountain. Keep calm, and the birds won't do anything." Sein comforts Ori.

Reaching closer to the mountain they could see a cave that would lead inside. There they would break the line of sight with the birds.

"I have a bad feeling about this Sein, they will try something."

"Shhh. Don't pay attention to them, just keep moving."

Almost arriving, they hear a loud shriek coming from the trees.

Ori is startled and covers his ears. A heavy gust of wind blows and all birds take flight, they rotate the area like a swarm.

Sein stands ready to fight

"Ori, bash any bird that dares to approach, do not give them any space close to you!"

"But there are so many! What if they all come at once?"

"Fair point, you run then, deal?"

"Deal!"

A huge crow reveals itself, diving into Sein. The crow fails in its attack and takes heavy damage from her light, it lands in front of the cave entrance.

"Clever bird, blocking our passage. This won't be an advantage for you." Sein says to the crow.

All birds begin screeching as well, creating loud sonar waves.

Ori is greatly bothered by their screeching, he covers his ears, he couldn't trust in his hearing.

The crow advances and uses its sharp beak to peck Sein, she dodges and burns its feathers. The crow easily takes out the flames by creating a wind current in the direction it wants.

The small birds dive on Ori like they are suicidal, literally falling in a straight line without bothering to slam their heads on the ground.

Ori dodges the suicidal birds, they collide with the ground and some of them get greatly injured, some even die to the impact. Ori gets terrified of such sight, birds killing themselves trying to hurt him.

Sein still tries to deal with the crow but it just won't burn, its feathers would take a slight ignition but soon to be blown out. She had to find a weak spot.

More and more birds attacked Ori, killing themselves in the process. The others that would recover began chasing him on the ground, trying to peck him with their sharp beaks.

As Ori tries to keep himself safe from the small birds, the crow sees an opportunity to strike the spirit, it flaps its wings to push Sein out of the way.

At that moment, Sein sees the weak spot that the crow would certainly be impacted, under its wing, that area barely had any feathers

The crow rushes to Ori.

"Behind you!" Sein tries to warn the spirit

He couldn't hear it, the loud screeching was too much for him.

The crow is surprised by one of the birds, one of them falls directly in its head. Ori gets scared of how close the crow was to him, Sein quickly flies to her spirit's side. The crow shrieks and all birds go silent for a moment.

"Ori, bash the crow's wings, spread it so I can finish him."

The birds begin screeching again. The overwhelming sound would negate Ori's hearing.

Without communication, they had to improvise. Ori heard Sein in that brief moment, bash the crown's wing so he would spread it, but how? The small birds still were hot on his tail, he couldn't concentrate. The crow is scary enough to keep Sein occupied and won't let her aid him.

Ori had to do something.

The small birds were more and more aggressive, diving in to cause any possible damage to the spirit, compromising their health for the sake of it. Ori becomes enraged, he has to deal with the crow, it is driving the birds mad, it must be put down.

Ori made a sign of respect toward the small birds and began bashing them to the crow one by one, in any way he could. The crow is greatly annoyed and turns his attention to the spirit, he spreads its wings to knock him down with a wind current.

Sein sees an opportunity, she quickly charges her light and tries to get as close as possible to her mark. Upon approaching, the crow fakes his intentions and turns his attention back to Sein, as she is caught off guard, she is vulnerable.

Ori quickly bashes the crow's head and it gets stunned. Ori tries to bash its wing but the small birds still dive on him all the time, Sein thinks quickly and uses her powerful flash and blinds all birds flying. They spread out and break formation.

The crow recovers and sees the birds, it tries to make them regain formation and doesn't focus on the spirit, that was its mistake.

As the crow looked up, Ori sneaked behind and bashed its wing, forcing him to spread it open. Sein quickly comes and blasts their foe, the impact sends the crow away for a great distance.

"That should do it." Sein said in her mind

Ori kept looking at the crow knocked out, but the birds would not stop screeching. They began to dive again on the spirit.

They would not stay to confirm if the crow would get back up, they ran the cave and entered the mountain.

The screeching became distant, Ori could hear again.

"Are you okay Ori?" Sein asks

"Yes, I am" He pauses for a moment. "That evil bird, how was he controlling the smaller ones? What in the world is the decay doing to these animals?"

"I don't know, the decay changes many of its victims, it mutates their bodies and become something different."

Sein looks at Ori, he shows sadness regarding the birds.

"Fear not my dear, we will save them. For now, all we can do is press forward."

Ori looked behind, still able to hear the screeches, it was uncertain if the crow was among them.

"I understand, let's go." Ori said.

They travel inside the mountain in a very large zone with spikes all around. Lanterns could be seen in many places to aid in moving and platforming, but they soon meet a cross path: one upwards and one straight forward.

"Which direction should we go?" Ori asks Sein

"Let's take the straight forward, it should be the safest path."

Ori and Sein went forward and reached an exit from the mountain, they were received with an enormous canyon.

"Wow… " the spirit observes the great cliff

They saw a broken bridge, it looked like it crossed the pit to the other side of the canyon. They had no passage to make it across.

"On the other side of the canyon lies the Misty Woods. Do you see the mists from here?" Sein asked.

Ori looks at the other far end of the canyon, he sees a massive curtain of fog and in it, a slight green mist moved swiftly. He did not feel comfortable looking at the mists.

"How are we going to get there?" Ori asks

As they analyzed their surroundings, both Ori and Sein saw a very unwanted face.

Kuro.

The dark owl watched the canyon from the other side, It was a miracle she did not spot the spirit.

The duo was shocked by her sudden appearance, they fell back to the mountain, hiding from sight.

"What is she doing here!?"Ori asks in distress.

"I don't know, I really don't know. Thank the light she hasn't seen us, we would be in great danger if she did"

"What do we do? End of the line?"

"No, let's head back and take the upper path. She is watching the area below her, let's move up and analyze from above" Sein suggests

"Okay… But I still don't like it!" Ori was hesitant.

The duo returned and took the upper path, the way was more dangerous and had spiders, but it was doable thanks to Ori being more used to bash his way to safety. He used the spiders as a free jump and kept going up and reached the upper area of the mountain.

Ori carefully walked through the exit and looked down, and there she was, vigilant to any movement.

"We are above her line of sight, as long she doesn't look up she won't see us" Sein observed.

"But what do we do anyway?" Ori was uncomfortable.

"Don't raise your voice, remember she can also hear very, very well her surroundings"

Sein analyzes the area to find something that could help them. Kuro blocked the path to the Misty Woods and before anything could be done, Kuro must be dealt with first.

Ori kept peeking on Kuro. Afraid, he kept his eyes on her.

"Dear, stop looking at her, you are shaking again."

Ori could not take it, the scary part for him wasn't just to watch Kuro, but if he took his eyes out of her, she would spot him at the same instant.

Sein feels she needs to do something quick, she looks at the other side of the canyon and sees another group of birds flying around. Sein was uncertain why they would be there, are they too observing the dark owl?

Kuro emanates a radiant rage that could be felt in miles away, all animals are scared of her, but still, some cannot contain to look at her. Sein spots on the other side of the canyon, many rocks that were tied together, directly above Kuro, if they let the ties loose it would fall on her and she might move away.

Sein thinks Ori could use the birds to bash to the other side to the tied rocks. Quite dangerous if they screech and pull Kuro's attention. They still had to do it.

Sein thought of a plan for them to use, to sneak on the birds and bash them before they screech. Extremely risky, but could work. They had to move, Kuro maybe won't leave the canyon anytime soon.

"Ori, I said to stop looking at her. Listen, we have to reach the rocks over the canyon, we will untie the knots and the rocks will fall on Kuro, it will make her leave"

Ori looks at the rocks and then at the birds staring at Kuro from above on branches and gaps on the mountain.

"Are you sure? What about the birds?"

"Sneak on them and bash them quickly before they screech. I will aid you in bringing the rocks down."

"Okay… Let's go..."

Sein analyses her spirit.

"You are still frightened, Ori. Are you sure you can do this?"

"I don't know..." He said while shaking

They were in an impasse, Ori might not be able to do the task, not while being so scared. 

Sein thought in a way to calm him again. If she uses her light maybe it could draw attention

"Ori, come back here please." Sein called him

Ori moves back to the mountain and looks at Sein nervous.

"Okay…" Sein thinks for a moment. "Please show me your hands."

Ori hesitates

"Why…?"

"Just do it please"

"You will zap me?"

"No, I won't, zapping you here won't have any effect"

"Then why?

"Just show me your hands please."

Ori shows both palms of his hands to Sein.

"Okay, hold me" She said as she landed on his hands.

"Hm, okay…" Ori held Sein

A few seconds after.

"What is the trick here?"

"There are no tricks, just hold me." Sein replied.

Ori feels confused.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing, just to hold me"

Ori gets slightly annoyed. He keeps holding her.

A few minutes go by

"So…" Ori says.

"Do you have any questions?" Sein asks him

"Yes, what is the meaning of holding you?"

Sein's plan was just to occupy Ori's mind, to make him forget about Kuro and his fear. It was working quite well, the spirit was annoyed but he was no longer shaking.

"There is no meaning, but if you take off your hands I will fall into the ground."

"How come? You can fly."

"Do you still remember my plan I told you a few minutes ago?"

"Hm, yes, I remember"

"All right, let's put it in action" Sein starts to fly.

Ori wanted to know what just happened, but he was no longer thinking of the dark owl. Sein's plan was a success.

They move to their positions, many birds were either sitting somewhere safe or just flying high above Kuro

"Before you do it, promise me, you won't look up, understand?"

"What?" Ori looks up. "Stop playing with me."

"Let us begin Ori. Let's get over there, go go go."

Ori just focused on what Sein asked, surprisingly not looking down at Kuro again. He sneaked to the closest bird.

Sein whispers

"Remember, do it quickly. Don't look up."

Ori looks at Sein confused for a moment and starts the plan.

The first bird is surprised and is bashed to the mountain where Ori and Sein were, it is stunned but would soon recover and sound an alarm. While the first bird recovers, Ori was already halfway there, the other bashed birds would get pushed away for a few moments and try to understand what is happening, they look around and see the spirit, quickly chasing after him, they would collide with other bashed birds. The first bird recovers and screeches as loud as it can, Kuro immediately looks up in the bird direction.

Ori and Sein were almost there, with a good distance to not get caught in her gaze

The birds went silent and stopped chasing the spirit when Kuro stared at them, the last bird was alerted moments before getting bashed, it screeches loudly as it is pushed and falls.

Kuro chases the falling bird with her gaze and looks back up. She notices a slight shine before it hides behind a stack of rocks tied together.

Whispering, Ori, and Sein discuss the next part of the plan, how to untie the rocks

Kuro is bothered and screeches, warning nearby creatures that she will take flight.

The duo had no time to untie the rocks, Ori this time had a plan.

"Sein, give me a portion of your light! I will stomp the rocks down."

Kuro hears the spirit and enrages, but she is surprised by an avalanche of rocks. She gets stunned by the impact and takes flight. Disoriented, she collides with the mountain on the other side of the canyon and goes away

Ori and Sein fell with the rocks and collided with Kuro, they were pushed back to the starting point, at the beginning with the broken bridge.

The duo watches Kuro leaving the canyon, and they are surprised by a feather falling close to them.

"Look, Ori! A Kuro's feather, catch it!"

Ori moves and catches the feather. For their luck, no winds are present in the valley, the feather didn't get blown away

Ori holds the feather of the dark owl, its size was huge compared to the spirit

"Wow, it is so big" The spirit was impressed

"You are not scared…? That feather belongs to Kuro you know."

"Yes I know it, a simple feather can't scare me. I am not a baby."

"You're so cute when annoyed you know that?"

Ori looks a bit shy and keeps staring at the feather.

"Ori, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Sein asks.

"Hm?" The spirit seemed confused.

"You can use the feather to reach the other side of the canyon!"

Ori looks at the canyon, to the feather and then to Sein

"How?"

"This feather will prove useful on our journey. See, you can use it like a parachute and glide in the air, you can glide over there and reach the misty woods."

Ori looks at the feather, to the canyon and back to Sein

"What is a parachute?"

Sein sighs

"Never mind that, just try to glide in the air using the feather, let's practice a bit."

Ori stares at Sein, tilting his head.

"But how?"

Sein gets slightly pissed

"Jump from somewhere safe, hold the feather on both ends and embrace the air."

Ori shows a tiny smirk.

"But how?"

Sein was pissed.

"Like this." As she used her light explosion to push Ori off the cliff

Ori immediately panics and falls holding the feather.

"Use the feather to slow down the fall!" Sein suggested

Ori tries to glide, still panicking, he holds the feather on both ends and pulls it up, the air resistance stretches the feather, slowing down the fall.

"Oh, you did it! Never had a doubt." Sein said.

Ori was panting intensely, he almost had a heart attack. The spirit looks angry at Sein while gliding to the bottom of the pit.

"Please don't be angry… At least you learned how to glide."

Ori still stares at Sein very angry

"If you keep looking at me like that, I'm gonna fall in love with you"

After a long glide, they reached the bottom of the pit, landing onto the ground it had a very small river and nothing more.

Ori still stares at Sein angry.

"Listen here, you provoked me first okay? That was your fault."

Ori crossed his arms staring at the wisp, the feather had vanished.

"Hey, where is the feather?"

"None of your business" Ori replies

"Where is it? Did you lose it? Where did you put it?"

Ori grunts and don't answer Sein

Sein circles Ori

"Dear, where is it?"

"It is with me, rest assured."

"Thank the light, I got a bit worried here… But where exactly?"

"Not telling." Ori replies

"Fine, keep your secrets, if it is with you, so I believe it."

"Why did you push me off the cliff!? Look where we are now, where do we go!?"

Sein analyzes the surroundings, luckily, there was a passage back to the mountain they were.

"Over there, there is a way back probably" Sein observes.

Ori still had his arms crossed and an angry face.

"Sorry for pushing you off the cliff, would you forgive me?"

Ori is still mad

"Pretty please?" Sein begins blinking.

Ori surrenders.

"I forgive you, but you need to see your manners, you have treated me very badly recently."

He reminds Sein of the prank at the Moon Grotto and her great ways to persuade him at the Thornfelt Swamp.

Sein feels bad for she truly went a bit too far in both situations, and even now.

"You are right, you got me… I promise to treat you better from now on, okay?"

Ori smiles to Sein

"I also want to apologize for provoking you earlier, I am also guilty for our situation…" Ori confesses

Sein was surprised, a child taking such responsibility for his actions? This journey is turning him into an adult really quick! Or is it Reem`s influence inside him? She couldn't tell.

"Since you had to throw me all the way down here, it can't get any worse at least, can it?" Ori comments

A pack of poisonous frogs surrounds the duo.

"You had to say it hadn't you?"

"Where did they come from!?" Ori asks

Ori and Sein fight their way out of the ambush, the frogs were creepy and could attack with their tongues from afar with pretty good aim. Ori bashed and dodged all their tongues protecting himself, Sein had to use a lot of energy to kill the frogs. For some reason they only focused on Ori, while Sein's light had little effect, they managed to defeat the frogs.

"I am not saying that ever again."

"Good idea, let's leave this pit before more of them appear"

They rush to the mountain, entering the small passage they had to go through more platforming, and of course, more spiders on the way

Sein just doesn't like them very much.

"Why are there so many spiders in Nibel?! I asked my sisters to not let any spiders in my forest! They had one job, and that's what I get for being nice to them! I am so furious!"

"Your sisters?" Ori asks.

Sein calms down

"Yes, I have many sisters, I talked about it a little on the day we first met remember? I guess I could talk about myself a little more when we have the chance. What do you think?"

"I would love to learn about your sisters! When are you going to tell me?

"Tonight."

Ori couldn't wait for the night to arrive, he was eager to learn more about her sisters.

"For now we must focus on our mission, let's get back up." Sein said.

"Understood!" Ori says excitedly

They climb and deal with the weird spiders, the path leads back to the field where they fought the crow. Fortunately, they were close to the cavern to the mountain and they did not see a single bird anywhere, all nests were empty, the place got way scarier than before.

"This place again… But where are the birds? Ori asks.

Sein takes a moment to answer.

"Strange, I don't think Kuro is responsible for this. Let's move quickly Ori, I don't want to wait to find out."

They move swiftly back to the mountain and they arrive at the canyon.

"All right, back at stage zero. Are you ready Ori?"

Ori stares at the fog curtain at the other side of the canyon, he doesn't answer Sein

"Ori?" she calls him

"Ah! Hi."

He did not listen. He is scared of the mists and has every right to be. That place twists and plays with what the eye can see, the haze of that place deceived the minds of all who dared to venture in… Those lost within were never found.

"Dear, remember what we discussed last night?"

"Yes, we discussed that we will remain together from start to finish, I will hold you and you light the way, so we may never get lost. That is our primary focus as we move through the mists."

"Exactly, as long as we don't get separated, we will never get lost. You have me, and I have you. Also do remember, don't trust in everything you see, my light will disperse the haze, trust in what my light illuminates, don't listen to anything that talks to you if it's not me okay?"

Ori hesitates to answer Sein.

Deep inside Ori felt overwhelmed. The dread of that place is simply too much, he couldn't think properly. He was afraid of the dark.

"Ori?"

The spirit doesn't answer again

Sein circles around Ori and touches his forehead.

"It is okay, you can say it if you want to."

Ori began to cry.

"I don't want to go there!"

"I don't want to go there!"

"I don't want to go there!"

Sein sees how stressed out he is, she can't force him to go there at that moment.

"Ori, want to rest for today? I can tell you about my sisters, and tomorrow we see how we can traverse in a safer way to get the Gumon Seal, deal?"

The spirit tries to calm down, Sein's offer was a gift he wanted to hear

"Deal" He sobs

...

They make a camp in an inner area of the mountain, safe from any dangers. Ori gathered wood and Sein lit the bonfire, they sat beside it and Sein tried to comfort the young spirit.

"Are you ready to hear a bit more about me?"

Ori was still uncomfortable, but he did want to know more, his ears slowly raised.

"Yes, please tell me." He said, feeling a bit better.

"Very well then, let me start from the very beginning."

Sein circles the campfire

"I have six sisters, we are seven wisps in total, each one of us has the sacred duty to protect our forests from decay and keep a balance between light and shadow. Although it's uncertain how we came to be, legends say that the first light, known as Sei, presumably our mother, sacrificed herself to banish the decay from our world. It resulted in her to split into seven smaller wisps. We were born already with our goal in mind, to carry on the mission of Sei. Our mission is to keep the world safe from the decay in multiple points, we have to keep this world a safer place for all living creatures, whether their origin is from light or dark."

Ori's mood had already changed, he listened to Sein with great interest.

"You may think, why do we protect even the dark? Well, the answer is pretty simple, the darkness is not evil because it is from the darkness, and neither is all light good. This is something you will learn in your life later once you're older. Regarding our care for the forest, we know all creatures that live with us. You may not know, but Naru, your mother, is also a creature of the dark, she is not essentially bad right?"

"My mom is a creature of the dark? No way! There is nothing dark about her!"

"Naru is indeed. She lived much of her life away from my light. She was raised by just her father. They lived somewhere below the Black Root Burrows, another area on Nibel that is quite dangerous nowadays, that place used to be their home, but now is a haunted grove that used to have so much light."

"But my mom was so kind… She couldn't hurt even a butterfly, how can she live in such a dangerous place..."

"It wasn't a scary place many years ago. When she was young, she used to play with the spirits of the forest, spirits just like you Ori. She made a friendship with them, even if she belonged among the darkness. Her father would prohibit her from interacting with her friends of the light, but Naru already knew what she wanted. 

“During years, she kept contact and showed much affection to the spirits, and she was well-received by them too. She discovered the light is nothing to be afraid of, darkness and light can live together as balance and order would want. She kept it a secret from her father, and in the year of his passing, Naru was an adult. She made her way out of the burrows and came to me offering any help possible. We quickly became friends. She aided the Spirit Tree to grow and spent many days caring for the spirits. As my gift, she embraced my light and I gave her the Swallows Nest, a small portion of the forest where she could live by the light of the Sun and never worry about a single thing. After a short time, she met you, one guardian spirit of the light. I know this for sure, at that moment, her memories of playing with the other children of the light made her heart rejoice. She took you as one of her own. That is why Naru is such a blessed creature, and never evil because of her dark origins."

Ori was impressed hearing the tale of his mother, there is so much he didn't know about her, the memories of his time with her appeared one after another.

"I miss her so much…" he teared up a little

"Don't worry, she had a great life and can rest knowing that you are well and healthy. That is all she wishes and always will, guard her in your heart and she shall forever live on."

With Sein's words, Ori calms down.

"Do you want to sleep or you want to hear a bit more? I haven't even started talking about my sisters yet" Sein giggles.

"Please tell me more!" Ori was excited

"You are a good listener, I shall grant you your wish. I will talk first about our world and our forests, then about my sisters, okay?"

"I am all ears" Ori replies wagging his ears.

"Very well then. Our world is composed of many different lands, the ocean, the skies. And each far land you will see a new forest, and in each, rests a wisp in their throne, on top of their Spirit Trees, the wisp and the tree are the source of light that protects the land from the decay, each one of us has a different color to match our personalities including a different type of tree that hold us."

"This is so cool!" Ori says

"In the far north is Altum, a forest painted in the white snow, a land of many wonders and the beauty of winter. It is a mountainous area and it is the largest of the forests. The wisp that guards such wondrous icy paradise is Seid, the wisp of love and attention, she has a bright red color to compliment her and her tree is a huge spruce. She is the wisp with the most intense light between all sisters, it however comes with a price with difficulty to control. She has the largest forest to watch after all."

"I want to meet her! When can we go there?"

Sein laughs

"My dear, she is just so far away from here. It will take months and traveling through forests is far too dangerous. The decay is everywhere in places that our light can't reach."

"But I want to meet the wisp of love and attention!"

"I know you do, Seid is a very kind wisp, she loves to give hugs, she would give you one too."

"Aww, I like her already, wish we could go there."

"I think you could make a lot of friends with the spirits there, they are so fluffy because of the cold weather. Once you hug one, it's hard to let them go."

"Spirits just like me? There are spirits in every forest too?"

"Yes, there are. In any place that has a Spirit Tree, then too shall have spirit guardians."

"And, you think I am fluffy too?"

"Most definitely. The spirits of Altum have more fur due to the weather, but you are just as fluffy as them"

Ori checks his fluffiness, he looks shy.

"That is it for one of my sisters, ready to proceed? Or do you want to sleep? It's getting late."

"I don't want to sleep, please continue, I want to know about all your sisters."

"Promise me you won't fall asleep while I tell you?"

"I promise"

"All right then. For my next pick, I will tell you about Seim."

"Seim? Sounds a lot like your name Sein" Ori observes.

"I know right? All our names are very similar." Sein laughs. "In the south, rests another forest, a marshland with a very humid and warm climate. Noiton, a land of dense jungles and marshes, home of many creatures, of both land and aquatic origin. Noiton is the forest of Seim, the wisp of harmony and tranquillity, her color is a lively green and her tree a huge mangrove. She is a very wise entity and knows so much about her environment, she knows about everything that happens in the marshland, the roots of her mangrove stand through the entire forest, and nothing is hidden from her. Although she has incredible power over the forest and despite her title, she is also very lazy to do much of her duty, she lets the forest deal with any problems by itself, she often refuses to help others simply because she doesn't want to think of a solution. In a way, none will be dependent on her light to live their lives"

"So she is powerful but lazy? It does not anger the animals?" Ori asks.

"Not at all. Noiton is a land true to nature, where the strong will live and the weak will die legacy is stronger than in any other forest, she won't interfere with anything, all living beings there are fine with this"

"Sounds scary… What about the spirits there?"

"Hm, since Noiton is a place with a lot of water mass, everyone there are efficient swimmers, and so are the spirits. They can hold their breath for long periods and they have a long and flat tail to help them navigate through the waters."

"I want a tail like that!"

"Seim would gladly change yours to your desire. She can be lazy, but often listens to the spirits that talk to her"

Ori picks his tail.

"Aw, my tail is so boring…"

"It's not boring, you will find many uses for it. Just give it a bit of time."

"I can hold you on my tail"

Sein pauses for a moment

"Yes, yes you can."

"And I can look like a rabbit doing so!"

Ori began laughing while imagining being a rabbit.

"And that is two sisters, the next one is-"

"Wait, I want to know about you now."

"Me? Really? You're making me shy."

"Pretty please?" Ori wiggles his ears

"I will save my turn for last, okay?"

"Aw, okay then. Please continue." Ori said while yawning.

"The closest forest from Nibel, just southwest lies Niwen, a land of many types of weather, be it cold, tropical, or semi-arid, it has almost everything there. The wisp of Niwen is Seir."

Ori lays down to listen to Sein

"Seir is the wisp of bravery and leadership, her color is a powerful gold, and her tree a big willow. She has a quite rude and bold personality, she is also cold when talking to her spirits. Impatient and has a strong sense to duty, meaning she will use everything to get the job done, even if it means sacrificing the lives of those around her"

"She looks very scary… I would not be happy to meet her"

"I think Seir is too cold sometimes, I also don't like her methods. We used to have heated discussions every time. I grew some antipathy for her and I am glad I don't have to deal with her anymore."

"You don't like Seir?" Ori asks

"Not very much, we never had a good relationship before, and I think she doesn't like me either. We are very different, like opposites. She also knows that I hate that type of spider, and she grants part of her forest as their home, they are now such a huge brood that some of them found their way into my Nibel, I hate those spiders!"

Ori uses this opportunity to make a question

"Oh, that's a good moment to ask, I know the spiders mean harm, but why exactly do you hate them so much?

Sein pauses to think

"I will tell you when you're older, for now, it will remain a secret. All you should know is that they are not friendly and do not deserve any mercy."

Ori yawns again

"I see." He ponders

"And, that's three sisters out of the way. The remaining four are good souls with a kind heart, in my opinion, just Seir is the difficult one. You will enjoy it when I say the next sister on the list is-"

Ori fell asleep.

Sein's light flashes a bit

"There's still so much I wanted to say. Oh well, there is always the next time. Sleep tight, my dear."

Sein circled the campfire and went to cuddle with her spirit. She also needed to rest, they had a good time chatting and Sein could feel Ori was a lot happier than before. Maybe tomorrow he won't be scared of the mists. If anything happens, Sein could just form a new plan.

…

The next morning arrives, the duo wakes up.

"Hello, Ori, did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did, thank you for the storytime, it was very fun."

"Glad to hear it, I still have much to tell you, wanna hear more next time we rest?"

"I surely do, I look forward to it!"

Sein surely felt happy by his enthusiasm, but time is of the essence, it was time to venture in the woods, while daytime shines bright.

"Shall we get moving Ori? The Misty Woods awaits us."

Ori was not afraid now as he was before. Still a bit reluctant, he also had the courage, he could answer Sein

"Yes, I am ready. Let's go, Sein"

It was time, Ori prepared to jump and glide to the other side of the canyon, he would brave the mists and face any danger with Sein by his side.

"Remember how to glide?"

"Yes, your lesson was something to remember"

Sein laughs

Ori builds up speed and jumps for the direction of the mists, he pulls the feather and glides directly to the fog curtain

"Whatever happens Ori, trust in my light, and my voice. The mists will try to deceive you in many ways, do not give it a chance to enter your mind."

"Understood." Ori replied.

They went through the curtain, and every second in it daylight was getting distant, the darkness began to build their surroundings. They finally land in the Misty Woods.

"Where is the sunlight? It's so dark in here." Ori observes.

"Ori, hold me close, I will protect you from the haze."

Ori holds Sein in his hands, they begin to move forward. Ori could not see where they were going, but Sein could see a path to the Gumon Seal and see objects or irregularities if they were close enough.

"I can guide you, Ori. Let's move slowly, follow my voice, I wish to save my energy for now."

"Okay… Do you think you can disperse the darkness even further? Like, illuminate the entire woods?"

"Yes I can, but it will cost too much energy, and I won't be able to hold on for long. I will spare a bit of my energy for any emergency. Be wary, we are probably not alone in this place."

Ori stood firm, he could not let fear sink in.

"Move to the right."

Ori stops upon a dead tree, he turns right and keeps walking

"Do you think it will be hard to find the Gumon Seal? Ori asks.

"It is close, I can feel it. Move to the left."

A wall blocks the spirit, he turns left and proceeds.

"We are close, we are almost there. I will increase your vision range, Ori. Stay vigilant."

Sein increased her light intensity, Ori could see a bit further

"There is a wide hole up ahead, careful." Sein warns

Ori spots the hole and stares into it.

"Do you think there is a bottom?"

"I don't know, and neither do I want to discover." Sein replied.

"Yeah, let's leave it for later…"

Ori slowly moved through the darkness, as long he held Sein, the haze cannot reach him. 

Following her voice, they approach the Gumon Seal.

"We are very close now Ori, let's take the seal and leave this place with haste."

"Yes, I agree"

They see a distant light within the darkness

"Sein, is that it?"

"It might be, I sense the seal close, approach with caution.

The path had many dead trees on the way, maybe even more hidden within the darkness. 

They were twisted from the trunk to the roots, giving a very creepy look. Sein notices something rather disturbing.

"Ori, I feel a decay presence nearby."

Ori's heartbeat accelerates

"Calm down, it is not moving."

Sein could sense more and more decay presences within the darkness. Something was not right.

"Ori, listen, we are being watched."

"Sein, please don't play with me right now."

"Do not release me no matter the reason, otherwise I won't able to protect you from the haze."

"Sein… please… don't say it…"

The sound of rotten wood rumbling reached the spirit ears, the trees are moving.

"I will increase your vision range so you can see the enemy, while I do I cannot guide you. You must see any obstacles and reach the seal."

"Please… wait…"

"Wrap me in your tail as you may need to use your hands. Just do not let go of contact with me at any costs!"

Sein glowed brighter, she revealed the rotten trees moving in to attack the spirit. Ori was not prepared for such a thing, he had to swallow his fear or they would die.

The massive rotten trees uprooted and moved very slowly, they had huge logs for arms.

Ori reacted by instinct, his fear forced him to concentrate. While holding Sein on his tail, he ran in the light's direction, dodging the logs and evading walls and other dead ends. Sein could reveal much within the darkness, and Ori used this as an advantage. He wasn't even thinking anymore, his survival instincts took over and he had only one goal in mind: reaching that light alive.

There was no end in sight for how much rotten trees were on Ori's path. Each one, attempting one attack before losing the spirit. Ori began to hear a different sound, it seemed like something digging, it was coming from below and approaching quickly. Ori jumps out of the ground and sees roots that tried to grab his hooves. Another awaited him where he would land, Ori double jumps and lands safely. The roots continued chasing. It was a race, more and more roots began to chase Ori, if one could hold him, the others would lock him down and separate him from Sein. He sprints and dodges many types of obstacles that would stop his advance. The overwhelming sound of the roots destroying everything behind him made him run even faster. Ori sees a wide hole with no end in sight, he risks it and jumps forward, even after making it so far he still doesn't see the end of it, he double jumps pulling Kuro's feather, gliding even further, he manages to reach land on the other side, the roots did not follow him.

"I think we are safe now." Sein says

Ori was breathless, he needed some time to rest. Sein toned down her light's intensity, Ori could no longer see much further in the darkness, he picked Sein on his hands again.

"Good job Ori, thanks to you, we reached the mysterious light"

"I could… Use some water right now."

"I can share my light with you. Here, feel refreshed"

Ori feels her energy restoring his stamina and fatigue, he felt much better in a matter of seconds.

"Thank you, Sein"

"You're welcome."

They see a giant totem with an empty lantern. Sein recognized the object

"This is the Shrouded Lantern! And the totem is emanating the haze of the woods!"

"What does this lantern do?" Ori asked

"It can vanquish the haze, we must find a way to light it."

Ori and Sein hear a roar coming from the darkness

"What was that!? The ugly trees?" Ori asks

"It might be them, we should be safe here… Their presence is only on the other side of that abyss you jumped over, there are none on this side."

They hear the sound of a heavy object being dragged…

"What is this sound?" Ori asks

"I don't know…"

...

"Look out!" Sein warns

A tree log is thrown on the duo, Ori ducks the log but a second one hits him just barely, Ori releases Sein on impact.

"Ori! The haze-" Sein vanished

...

Ori wakes up and finds himself in his bed, it was another beautiful morning in Nibel

"Good Morning my son! Did you sleep well?" Naru asked.

"Mom…?"

"Hm? Did you have a nightmare? I can help you in a second, my hugs will make them go away

Ori stared at his mother, tears started to pour from his eyes.

"You're crying! Oh, my love, it's okay, mommy is here with you."

Naru picks up her son and pulls him closer, bringing him into a hug.

Her embrace was just like he remembered... He missed it so much, he began to cry within her hug.

"Shh shh, it's okay… it's over now, just relax. It was just a nightmare."

"I missed you so much! I missed! I…!" Ori hugs back his mother with all his might.

"Oh my love, I will always be with you, no matter what happens. What about searching for some fruits? Today is harvest day, you know what that means right?"

"Day to fill the baskets!" Ori and Naru say at the same time

"Let me wipe those tears first." Naru places Ori on the ground. "I'll be waiting for you outside, grab some baskets, and let's get going!"

"Okay! I'll be right behind you!"

Naru leaves their small cave. Naru picked two baskets.

"Was it all a dream…?" Ori asks himself

"My love? Where are you?" Naru called him

Ori shakes his head.

"On my way!" As he brings more baskets to gather fruits

Ori leaves his home and sees the Spirit Tree on the horizon, but something was missing.

"Over here my son, look how much fruit the trees give us!"

The Spirit Tree did not have the light sitting on its top.

"Where is the li-" Naru picks up Ori

"Hoho, why are you looking at that boring tree? Let's get the fruits!"

"Mom, ins’t that the Spirit Tree? Where is the light that rests on it?"

"Hm? I never have seen any light there. Is that something of your dreams too?"

"I swear the tree had a light, a wisp called Sein"

"SǍ̶̱̝̕in? Never heard about it, you have a fascinating imagination. Now let's go pick the fruits

What was that? Ori heard his mother's voice sound very different when she said her name.

"Okay…"

While Ori gathered the fruits with Naru

"Are you sure you don't remember a light blue colored light on that tree?" Ori asked.

"Again? I said I have never seen that light you talk about, the only one that has a beautiful light is you, my love"

"Not even its name?"

"What was it again? I don't remember."

"Her name is Sein."

"Her? Not only the light has a name, but gender too? I'm thinking the nightmare scared you."

Something was off, Ori remembers that Sein and Naru were good friends… Or was it just that crazy long dream that he remembers way too clearly.

"Yeah hahaha, I think I need to calm down, let's head back and eat?"

"That is a great idea my son, we have the baskets almost filled. Let's see those trees over there."

They move a bit further in their grove and stop by a river, and on the other side, large peach trees, in abundance, ready for anyone.

"Look, my son! Peach trees, so big we can store their fruit for months!"

"I have seen this before… What is this weird feeling?" Ori thought.

"Let's build a bridge and get there. Let's do it together, my love."

Naru notices Ori too disperse.

"Ørí, pLea$e, cÖm& here"

Naru manages to scare Ori for the first time.

"Mom…? Are you okay?" Ori noticed she called him by his name.

"I am fine, come and help me to get there, let's get some peaches!"

Ori was not comfortable, something is wrong here, they began building the bridge but Ori was not having fun. Naru notices his strange behavior.

"My love, is something wrong?"

Ori wants to tell her about his dream, but Naru could sound scary again.

"You can tell me if anything is bothering you, you can trust me."

Ori gives in and wishes to talk, they sit by the river and Ori tells his mother about that crazy dream until nighttime.

"Wow, what a great adventure you had with that Sein, a shame you couldn't finish it before waking up, right?"

"Yeah, so much happened, and to think you had-"

"ÐíëD¿"

It happened again, Ori had recovered from his discomfort, but now it came back heavier than before.

"I wish to show something to you, my love. Follow me please"

Ori hesitated

"Where do yo-"

"Just follow me please, it's just past the Swallows Nest"

"But we never left our grove."

"This time is something special"

"But I-"

" **J** U _ st ƒoll~ _ ow~~me..-#$!$#..##- PlEas3"

It was enough, maybe his dream wasn't a dream after all. Naru was acting too strange, it was not his mother. Ori wanted to leave this nightmare.

"Who are you?! Where is Sein?! Ori questioned his mother

"I am your mother,  **I AM YOUR** everything, you will obey me like a good child and follow me, I won't ask again"

"You're not my mother, she never gave me a name! You are a lie created by the haze! Where is Sein?!

Naru stood silent staring at the spirit

Ori could not take it, he turned his back on Naru and ran away. The world around him began to dissipate, the illusion was broken.

"¥Øu will n0t  **_e_ ** _ sÇàp3... _ **"** A gruesome voice yelled

Ori was back into the darkness of the Misty Woods, he could see himself thanks to his natural light. He stood close to the lantern, it emitted a small light around it, Ori had to find Sein.

"Sein! Where are you?!"

There is nothing more than complete pitch-black darkness blocking his sight

"Sein!" Ori called to her

" **˄re** ÿ-ö-ü LøsT my løvE?"

Naru appeared smiling to Ori

"Mom… Stand back, do not come any closer!"

"I just want to help you, let me help you to find your friend."

Ori notices a blinking light in the distance, could it be Sein?

"wHhhhhHhhHhhhhat is that? Is it your friend my son?"

Ori slowly increased the distance from his mother

"You will leave me now? Are you gonna leave like that again?  **yOÜ LE** _ ƒt me to die remember? Is that how you repay your mother?" _

_ Naru moves her hands closer to her head, Ori turns his back to her again and runs to the blinking light. _

_ Soon after, Ori hears the sound of bones breaking, and right after the sound of a body falling to the ground. He freezes in place… Whispers entered his mind _

" _ Look what you've done…" _

" _ Look at her…" _

" _ L _ **_óò_ ** _ K!" _

" _ You killed her..!" _

" _ L̷͎̬̬̍ŏ̶̗̼̺̟͑̄͊ȯ̶̦̯͎͓̆k̸̖͋͘!¡!¡!" _

_ Ori slowly turned around, he could almost see his mother-' _

_ The spirit hears a familiar voice calling him _

" _ Sein? Is that you?" Ori shouted _

_ Ori was saved from a horrifying sight, he regained focus to reach the blinking light, moving further without hesitation. He had to pray to not encounter any obstacles while running, he also couldn't go slow and carefully. Another presence was nearby, and it wasn't friendly. Ori's eyes grew used to the darkness, he could see a giant silhouette moving in the dark, he saw a very unwanted face with glowing white eyes burning with hatred. His greatest fear manifests... the dark owl comes for him. _

_ Her screech fills his mind with despair, Ori notices she took flight. She is close, she will dive on him, Ori must dodge her talons. By instinct, Ori could hear a ticking sound clearly on his ears, that sound would reveal how close the dark owl is, the more intense the ticking, the closer she is. _

_ The ticking guided him, he dodged the first dive, whispers would not stop entering his mind. _

" _ Give in" _

" _ Just die, join her" _

" _ It's your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault" _

" _ You live a lie" _

_ The maddening whispers tried to drive Ori insane, he must not give in, he used all his focus to ignore the whispers and reach the blinking light alive. _

" _ Die, just die" _

" _ Her talons will show the way" _

" _ Close your eyes" _

_ Kuro began another dive, the ticking began increasing _

" _ Its time" _

" _ iTS OVER" _

" _ Ģ̷̀I̶̹͝V̶̩̀E̷̪͝ ̷̝̀Ỉ̸̗Ń̴̡" _

_ The light was close, just a little more! His heart racing, the ticking almost exploding his hearing, the whispers screaming. Ori does a leap of faith to dodge the talons. _

…

" _ He dodged?!" _

" _ Lier!" _

" _ L̶i̶e̸r̵!̶!" _

" _ You don't deserve to live, surrender!" _

" _ You will die for your sins." _

" _ You're the reason they all suffered" _

_ Ori was still alive and focused on reaching the light, Kuro silhouette was gone and the whispers stopped. He reached the light, but it was not Sein. Ori found an ancestral tree, a grave of a spirit guardian, what made this spirit come to this place? _

_ Ori needs to find Sein, where could she be? She can't defend herself without Ori, that thought alone frightened him, she is alone in that darkness weakened, grief for what may become of her impacted Ori too much, he must find her right in that instant, but all he could see was the ancestral tree in front of him… In any case, Ori can't leave this spirit here, he awoke the light inside. _

" _ It can't be…." The mysterious guardian spirit spoke _

_ The light took the shape of a female spirit, she had many scars over her body and a very sad expression on her face. The fallen spirit began crying when she saw Ori. _

" _ I can't believe someone found me…! Thank the light!" _

_ The spirit guardian cried with the sorrow of a thousand years, Ori tried to calm her. _

" _ Hey, please don't cry. I am here to take you out of this place. What is your name?" _

" _ My name is Tatsu, and you?" _

" _ She doesn't know me?" Ori thought to himself _

" _ I am Ori, nice to meet you Tatsu" _

" _ Ori, why are you here? Have you lost your way as I did?" _

" _ I am searching for a friend of mine, Sein, do you know how I can find her?" _

_ Tatsu became shocked by hearing the wisp's name _

" _ Sein!? Did you bring her here? Have you lost your mind?" _

" _ I haven't, Sein and I are on a mission to restore the forest, our mission requires us to recover the Gumon Seal, and that's why we came to this place." _

" _ You are insane... You brought the wisp of Nibel to die in this darkness… Unbelievable… We are all doomed" _

" _ I believe with heart she is not yet lost! if you aid me, I can return to her side!" _

" _ Your faith is misjudged Ori, no one can walk within the darkness of the deceiving mists unprotected, but since we're talking about Sein, maybe she can protect herself for some time. And for you Ori, I do not offer you any skills, but a way to lift the haze of this place." _

_ Tatsu picks a small sphere under her tree _

" _ This is Atsu's torch, the light that once protected these woods from the haze. Atsu was my brother and he found a way to free this place from these cursed mists. That totem you saw emanates it and cannot be destroyed. My brother had success in banishing the haze until the winds betrayed us. The valley was almost destroyed, Atsu lost his life and the torch went missing. I was devastated when I heard about his passing, I came here unprepared and still tried to find the torch, I tried to restore my brother's work. But when I did find the torch, I couldn't go back, I was already lost, my mind was twisted and I killed myself to end the torment." _

Tatsu makes a short pause.

" _ Take my brother's greatest creation, place it in the lantern. May you be able to do what I could not, may you be able to find Sein when the haze is banished and the mists dispersed" _

_ Ori picks up Atsu's torch _

" _ I'm sorry for your story Tatsu. I will take you out of this place, so you may be within the light and not in the darkness." _

" _ One last thing Ori, if you ever find my brother, please save him, so we may be reunited again" _

" _ I will, you have my word." _

" _ Thank you, Ori. Now make haste. Sein doesn't have much time. May the Spirit Tree guide your steps." _

_ Ori and Tatsu shake hands. _

_ Tatsu light joins with Ori, her tree blooms with white flowers and Ori began hearing the whispers again. _

" _ Failure" _

" _ Pathetic spirit" _

" _ She died in vain" _

" _ And so shall you" _

" _ Your precious light is forever lost" _

_ The tree couldn't protect Ori from the haze anymore, Ori had to move to the totem again. Luckily the lantern had a bright light that could be spotted within the darkness. And so he began running, holding Atsu's torch he had a way to rescue Sein. He had no time to lose. _

" _ W̷h̵y̸ ̴d̴o̶ ̵y̵o̵u̶ ̶f̵i̶g̴h̶t̸?̶" _

" _ Y̸o̶u̵ ̶s̷u̸f̷f̷e̶r̵e̴d̷ ̵e̵n̵o̴u̶g̶h̶" _

" _ Y̴o̷u̵ ̶f̸a̸i̶l̵e̴d̵ ̷e̷n̵o̷u̵g̸h̷" _

_ "̸T̸i̷m̸e̴ ̷t̶o̸ ̶r̶e̶s̴t̵"̴ _

_ Kuro's eyes appear in the darkness once again, the chase is on once more. He couldn't hear the ticking sound, the whispers grew louder _

" _ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒" _

" _ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒" _

" _ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒ D̵̪̅i̴̲͐ẽ̵̘.̷̟͂ ̴̠̈́D̷̬͑í̷̝ẽ̵̗.̵͇̓ ̵̗̏D̵̫̓i̵̔ͅe̸͎̍.̴̹̈́ ̵͓̃Ḍ̴̈́ḯ̷̯ē̸̬.̵̖̒" _

_ The dark owl screeches and begins to dive in to kill. Ori has to guess from which direction Kuro will strike. Ori heard a voice clearly among the whispers. _

" _ Get down" _

_ Ori lays on the ground and evades Kuro's talons, which was too close for comfort. That voice saved his life, the spirit gets up and keeps on running. _

" _ Right" _

_ A voice seemed to be guiding him, Ori turns slightly to the right and evades colliding with a dead tree. _

" _ Jump" _

_ Ori jumps immediately after being told to, he dodges a hole. Kuro screeches again. The whispers repeated the same word nonstop, going crazier and crazier. _

" _ Roll left" _

_ Ori does a roll jump to the left and feels Kuro's talons barely touching him. _

_ The chase went on, Ori followed the mysterious voice and was almost there. He felt more confident and the whispers failed to disturb him. As he dodged Kuro and many objects that could stop him, hope increased as he would get closer to rescue Sein and escape this nightmarish place. _

" _ Ori! Over here!" Sein called to him _

_ Ori heard the voice of Sein, could it be? Ori halts surprised. _

" _ Sein?" Ori asks _

" _ Yes, Ori! I am here!" _

" _ Impostor" the voice spoke _

_ Ori wanted to believe, but the voice has spoken, he did not give it a chance, he kept running to the lantern _

_ He felt much pain by ignoring Sein, but something was not right, she would never call to him like that, she would instantly rush to his side, the haze couldn't deceive him anymore. _

" _ Get down" _

_ The sudden appearance of the wisp made Ori forget about Kuro, he lays down but her talon manages to cut his back. It wasn't lethal, but Ori began bleeding. The pain quickly became unbearable but he had to move forward. Before he could reach the lantern Kuro would dive one final time, Ori pressed forward as hard as he could, the wound bleeding more as he kept moving, he began to slow down, he was almost there. _

" _ Throw it" _

_ Ori throws Atsu's torch to the lantern and falls to the ground, he manages to hit his mark and the lantern is lit. It emits a powerful shockwave of light, Kuro is dissolved moments before she could finish the spirit. The whispers cease. A bright light shone through the woods, the haze drained into the totem, the nightmare was over. The light could enter the woods once again, Ori could see and tries to find Sein. He felt dizzy, his vision became blurred, Ori stood up and moved with difficulty. _

" _ Sein! Where are you?" He shouts _

" _ She is right beside me" _

_ That voice again _

" _ Who said that?" Ori said in pain _

" _ Right here, in the lantern" _

_ The voice came from Atsu's torch, it was it that guided Ori through the darkness. _

_ Ori stares at the lantern pedestal, he notices Sein sleeping right next to it. _

" _ Sein!" Ori rushes to her _

" _ She is fine, she's been sleeping for a while now" _

_ Ori holds Sein close, she is still asleep. _

" _ Who… who are you?" Ori asks to the lantern _

" _ I am Atsu. I thank you for saving my sister, I remained by her side for a long time, she probably doesn't know what happened to me." _

" _ Atsu…? Your sister misses you… What happened-" Ori fails to speak, he began losing consciousness. _

" _ Relax Ori, today is not your day. Sleep for now" _

_ Ori felt extremely weak and couldn't even stand anymore, he fell on the ground holding Sein close. He feels sleepy and slowly closes his eyes, falling asleep... _

_... _


	8. Atsu and Tatsu

**Naru:** "Hey, my son, what are you doing?"

**Ori:** "I'm drawing myself, look!"

**Naru:** "Oh, our walls will be so pretty! Can I be a part of your drawing too?"

**Ori:** "Of course! I'll draw you right away."

**Naru:** "Oh thank you"

...

**Naru:** "I am fine… Take the peach. I am not hungry or anything, just a bit tired. I will rest for a few minutes... if I fall asleep, can you wake me up?"

**Ori:** "Of course, rest well mom."

**...**

**Ori:** "Mother! I managed to get more fruit for us! Look!"

**Ori:** "Mom? Please wake up."

...

**Sein:** "My strength returns, I am awake once more"

**Sein:** "May I know your name, kind spirit?"

**Reem:** "You cannot face that owl…"

**Sein:** "I am the light and eyes of the spirit tree"

**Reem:** "You're the reason we all died!"

**Naru:** "My hugs will make them go away"

"Relax, today is not your day"

"Hey…"

"Hey!"

"Wake up"

"I gonna zap you!"

"Don't zap me!" Ori yells as he wakes up

Gasping for air, he tries to understand the current situation

"What happened? Where am I?"

Ori was still in the misty woods. Sein had taken him to a shelter for safety as she cared for his health.

"Hey, there" Sein revealed herself.

"You slept a lot Ori, it's been a whole day since you saved us"

"My back…?" Ori says to himself

The wound on his back was gone.

"I am so sorry Ori, I am so sorry for not being able to protect you"

"Sein..." Ori turned his attention to her.

Sein began to cry.

"I can't imagine the nightmare! By the sacred light, I am so sorry… If only I had my powers! If only I-"

Ori reaches for Sein calmly, allowing her to rest.

"It's okay, it is not your fault, no one could predict what would happen. It's not your fault."

"Ori…!" The wisp of Nibel fails to speak

As Sein can't show tears, her light glows in a grey tone.

"Relax, I am not angry or anything. I am glad I could help you this time around."

Ori and Sein once again fought to live another day. As they emerge victoriously, they needed time to calm their feelings

...

"I have been sleeping for a whole day you said?"

"Yes, while you were asleep I could recharge thanks to you. I woke up so scared seeing you unconscious that I almost died."

So much had happened in such a short time. Ori would remember the fight he had against the darkness, the spirit he met, the torch…

"Are you feeling well Ori? You can tell me if anything is bothering you."

"I remember clearly the moments the haze spoke to me… Thankfully, it is over now. I saved a spirit too, and the lantern… I had been wounded on my back…"

"Please tell me everything. I must know what happened."

Ori tells the complete story to Sein. She couldn't hold the grief of what she made Ori go through, a child should never have lived such a nightmare. Sein blamed herself deeply and swore that she would never be separated from him again. Ori would comfort the wisp once more, and she cried for a few more minutes. Once she calmed herself she wanted to introduce Ori to someone.

"My dear, have you met Atsu?"

Ori remembers talking to the lantern before losing consciousness.

"Atsu? Yes, I mean no, I want to talk to him!"

Ori gets up but has difficulty moving.

"Strange, I don't feel pain, why is it so hard to walk?"

"Your body still remembers the trauma. You are still in a recovery state and need more rest before you can move properly again. As long as you don't move too much, I think later today you will feel better"

"I want to talk to Atsu, I need to!"

"Calm down, I will aid you going there, he is very close anyways. There is no rush."

Ori slowly moves with Sein's aid. Once leaving the shelter, he could look at the woods properly. The light had returned, but the place still looked scary and haunted, this part of the forest suffered for so long, there is no life to be found here.

"We are here Ori"

"Hello Ori, are you feeling better?" Atsu asked.

"Hey Atsu… Your sister. She wants to see you."

"I know, but I am afraid this won't be possible. On that fateful day, I made a choice and paid the price, I feel much for my sister. I thank you for saving her"

Ori had made a promise.

"Is there no way you can talk to her? There must be a way, the light always finds one."

"Not this time Ori, as I must remain in this lantern, I can't communicate with the dead. I can communicate only with only the living, you are the only one I can talk to, Ori"

"You do know she is with me right now… What if I concentrate my light so you can talk to her through me" Ori tries to argue.

"Ori, it can't be done. If you want to hold me, it means you will take me off the lantern. The haze will return, and still, I can't guarantee I will be able to talk to her. She probably is asleep within you, but at least she is happy… I must believe she is"

"She isn't!"

"Ori, please…"

It seemed impossible for Ori to attend the wish of the fallen spirit…

"I can help you two." Sein said.

They had forgotten that the wisp of Nibel was right there, the benevolent light that aids anyone with her godlike powers.

"I can link you two directly through the light, and Ori doesn't need to take you off the lantern, just to keep contact, I can only maintain the link for 10 minutes, do you wish to proceed?"

"Yes, please" Ori answered.

"And you Atsu?" Sein asked

Atsu took a moment to answer.

"I… I don't know. By the light…" Atsu fails to think.

"Please Sein proceed."

Sein goes ahead and explains.

"So it's settled. Ori, please touch Atsu for the entire duration so I can maintain the link. Atsu, do not forget, you have ten minutes. Let us begin"

"Wait." Ori asked "What will happen to me during the link?"

"Nothing much, your consciousness will remain here with me while Atsu will visit the spirits that you already saved. Just don't let go of Atsu okay?"

Ori agreed and touched Atsu. Sein made the link and Atsu could travel across the light.

Atsu arrived in an open field with clear skies and the ground were clouds. A blooming forest welcomes him, with all kinds of funny trees on both ground and air.

"Where am I? My body… I have my body once again!"

Atsu was a scholar, a proud spirit that always sought knowledge. He had marks of glasses on his face that he once used, and a stylish hairpin on his head.

"Look, another one has arrived. Fresh meat"

"Reem! Stop talking like that to our new friend!"

"I have no friends, so stop talking to me like that Leru"

Atsu is surprised and sees two spirits approaching.

"Greetings! My name is Leru and this is Reem. He is a hothead but he doesn't bite, I promise."

**Reem:** "Don't talk about me Leru, ill kill you."

**Leru:** "Shut up Reem, I am trying to speak to our new friend, grow some maturity already!"

**Reem:** "Hah! Do you want to see some maturity? Bring it on, I will let you strike first."

**Atsu:** "Hello Leru and Reem, my name is Atsu, I am looking for my sister, do you kno-"

**Reem:** "Hey hey hey, the newcomer barely arrived and is already making requests? Oh no I need to do some punishment over here."

**Leru:** "Reem, please stop scaring our new friend, you won't punish anyone"

**Reem:** "Oh ho, you wanna go Leru?"

**Leru:** "Please Atsu forgive us. I will deal with this buffoon. Please look for Fil, he will guide you"

Atsu listens to Leru and leaves the two talking

**Reem:** "Where do you think you're going? We still have a match to se-"

**Leru:** "I said to shut the f*** up!" Leru kicks Reem in the groin.

Atsu felt the pain even so far away. He explores the place for a moment, he sees an older spirit, that must be Fil.

"Excuse me, you must be Fil right?"

"Oh hello there. Yes, I am Fil, what is your name friend?"

"Atsu, I am here searching for my sister, Tatsu. Do you know where she is?"

"Oh, I feel a different energy in you, young Atsu. You are not here to stay."

"That is correct. I don't have much time, would you please aid me?”

"Yes, come with me. She's been sleeping since she got here. She is not a very talkative type, is she? I bet she will be so happy seeing her brother"

Fil guided Atsu through the flourishing forest. As they walk...

"Tatsu still has many wounds to heal young Atsu. Since when she got here she barely spoke a word. She isolated herself at the end of his heart, where there is less light"

"Less light?" Atsu repeated.

"Yes… This place, as you may know, is a paradise that Ori made for us. Although he did everything, he controls this space in his subconsciousness. That means this place often changes to Ori's mood accordingly: storms rage when he feels anger, rainfalls when he is sad, earthquakes usually happen when he feels pain, and the list goes on.

“When he is in peace, we see this beautiful land we walk upon. In one place in particular, never changes to his will. Known as the Swallows Nest, the inner sanctuary of his heart."

Atsu thinks how the events may turn out, he spends a good part of the walking analyzing.

"We have arrived young Atsu."

The Swallows Nest was the place where Ori lived with his mother, but something was wrong. The place had a tranquilizing atmosphere, but it also felt hollow. This had to be the least illuminated place in the paradise. And there was that cavern, his home.

Atsu could barely see what was in there.

"Go, Tatsu awaits you there."

"Thank you, Fil. But first, I need your help in something."

After a few minutes...

Atsu enters the cavern and sees the sister sleeping in Ori's bed. Sadness bloomed in the air.

"Tatsu?" he calls her.

Hearing his voice she opened her eyes.

"Atsu…?" She asked, shocked.

Atsu runs to her overjoyed. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

The two finally meet after an eternity suffering in the shadows. They hugged each other and began to catch up on the time they had missed. Atsu had to explain what happened to him and why he became the light of the shrouded lantern...

"Why did you have to do it!? You were forever stuck, forever locked in that sphere."

"Tatsu, on that day I was within my laboratory following my normal life and experimenting with other means to contain the haze. That special sphere had the magical properties to do such a thing. I couldn't explain why, and still, it required light to activate, light from a living spirit.

"Before doing such a difficult decision, I tried to search for other means to do it, but on that day, I would die and fail in both protecting the woods and finding a better solution.

"Before I perished, I gave my body to the lantern and my light would keep it lit forever. But the winds blew the sphere from the lantern and the haze returned. I failed in both my mission and as your brother. I made you so worried and even took your life. I am so sorry…" Atsu couldn't hold his tears.

Tatsu was almost speechless, She cried together with Atsu and his time was running out.

"Enough of that brother. At last we can be together now... I'm glad Ori and Sein managed to save you."

Atsu was slowly vanishing.

"Atsu? What is happening?"

"Tatsu, please forgive me."

The cold realization came shattering her heart.

"No! Don't leave me! Please Atsu! I don't want you to go! I finally could be with you! Please-"

"Listen." Atsu places his hands on her cheeks, wiping her tears.

"My dear sister, please join with the others. Live well with them for me.

"My dear sister, know that I love you always. My sacrifice may keep us separated, but as long as you remember me, I will always be with you.

"Do not ever forget: if you are happy, so am I. If you are sad, so am I… I love you Tatsu. So please, step out of the shadows… For me."

"Atsu! Please don't go! ATSU!"

Atsu disappeared in many light particles. Scattered in all directions.

So unstable. Still denying his departure. Tatsu tried to hold the few particles left of Atsu's light, in a hope to keep a fragment of him close to her.

One by one they all vanished, her efforts were in vain.

The poor sister couldn't even think properly. Her time with her long lost brother was so short, it was unfair.

Tatsu was broken, another eternity in darkness awaited her.

...

**Fil:** "Tatsu, know we will always be here with you."

**Reem:** "I won't beat you up girl. I promise, so join us."

**Leru:** "Hi Tatsu, you can always count on us, for anything okay?" Leru said

With so much to think, suffering from the farewell, she still fought the light.

**Tatsu:** "Leave me! I have nothing to share with any of you!"

They would not leave Tatsu aside.

**Fil:** "Young Tatsu, that is not what your brother wanted."

**Reem:** "That's right! Otherwise, I will need to force some sense into you!"

**Leru:** "Well, I have a little something with me Tatsu, would you like to see it? It's from your brother."

Tatsu became intrigued, she wanted to know what Leru spoke of.

**Leru:** "Let me show you."

Leru showed a little memento, a small hairpin, a gift Atsu gave Tatsu in their younger days.

**Tatsu:** "That is my hairpin..."

Leru gave the hairpin to Tatsu. As she held it, more and more tears poured from her eyes.

**Tatsu:** "He kept his promise..."

She held the hairpin closer as anguish began to leave her soul.

Fil, Reem, and Leru gave her some time. After a few minutes, Tatsu stood up and faced the other spirits.

**Reem:** "Bring it on girl! We have much to do! Even if our story has finished, a new one awaits." 

**Leru:** "Take my hand. Let us get out of this darkness" She reached out.

**Fil:** "Well, would you come with us Tatsu?" He asked.

In a decisive moment, Tatsu thinks in her brother's last words... She takes Leru's hand.

Fil and Reem celebrate.

"Where... Where are we going now? Tatsu asked.

"Home" Leru replied.

Tatsu made her first step out of the cavern, her first step out of the shadows. She decided to live side by side with the other spirits present in the paradise.

Tatsu made her first step...

..Into the light.

…

"Times is up, I can't keep the link anymore."

"What? It's been ten minutes already? Give him more time, Sein."

"I can't Ori, I am pulling him back."

Atsu returned to his lantern.

"Atsu, are you alright?" Sein asked.

"Did you see Tatsu?" Ori asked.

"Ori, Sein, thank you so much… I will never forget what you two did for me today. Thank you so much…"

Ori and Sein realized he did what had to be done.

"My friends, as a token of my gratitude, I give you the Gumon Seal."

The great totem moved and opened up.

"The haze!" Ori said worriedly

"Fear not Ori, The haze won't ever return as long as I remain here."

The Gumon Seal floated out from inside the totem. It lands on Ori's hands.

"Thank you Atsu, we will never forget you." Sein says.

"It is I who will never forget. Thank you again, may the Spirit Tree guide your steps."

"You will be okay in there Atsu?" Ori asks

With Ori's question, Sein reconsiders.

"I can do something to guarantee his safety."

"Atsu, do you allow me to seal the lantern?" Sein asked.

"Seal the lantern?" Ori repeated, confused.

Atsu takes a moment to answer.

"I allow it."

"It will be permanent, you won't ever be able to have contact from outside the lantern. Do you still wish to proceed?"

"Yes, please do it." Atsu replied.

"Very well."

Ori realized what was about to happen.

"Please wait!" Ori pleaded.

Sein stops to listen.

"Don't do this Atsu! You won't ever be able to talk to anyone! Give me some time, I will find a way to take you out of there!"

"It is necessary Ori.” Atsu replied.”Never again this place shall know the terror of the haze. I won't make the same mistake again.

"For now... I just want to sleep... I hope you can understand."

Atsu met Ori's eyes for the last time, the young spirit stood crying in silence. His tears meant more than any could imagine.

"Farewell, Ori."

Sein seals the lantern with sacred light, a light that won't ever be undone. Nothing can ever reach Atsu, the lantern is forever unbreakable.

With much grief, Ori feels he lost yet another battle, Ori lost another friend.

"Goodbye, Atsu…"

...

Ori and Sein move out of the woods, Atsu stays behind in his eternal vigil.

"Sein, what will become of Atsu?"

Sein hesitates to answer

"I feel so sad!"

"Was there really no way to save him?"

"My dear, your kindness knows no limits. Know that today you saved not just two brothers, but their entire afterlife."

"I couldn't save one of them!"

"You might think this, but you did save Atsu. Thanks to you, he had the courage to bear such responsibility. Also, you should not move so much yet, let's rest for today. Tomorrow we will discuss our next adventure."

"This is not fair! I can't leave him like this!"

"Oh, Ori... When you grow up, maybe you can help him. As you said, the light always finds a way."

Ori cried as he walked slowly back to their camp, Sein offered comfort and support for his feelings during the entire time. She also wanted to free Atsu from this fate, if she had her powers she probably could do something.

The land of the Misty Woods will heal over time. As Ori and Sein returned to their camp, they felt their mission “partially” accomplished.

Ori could not sleep that night because of Atsu. For now, they rest for as long as Ori needs to fully recover. For their next objective, would weigh on an old friend.


	9. Within the Cold Wind

It's been 4 days since Ori began to rest and recover from the events in the misty woods, during that time he gave lots of trouble to Sein. Atsu's fate bothered him too much. Sein explained one hundred times to her spirit: he is not in pain nor grief, he made his choice and Ori shouldn't feel bad for him.

Ori would not rest, he made many promises that he would find a way to restore Atsu. To find a way to protect the woods without a living soul to hold the light, he shouted and bolstered, his mind would not rest.

During the long 4 days, Ori could barely sleep, barely eat. His health could soon be compromised. Sein made a great effort to feed the spirit even if he did not want to. He did not even listen to her stories. Sein can't heal those who do not want to be healed. Only Ori may allow himself to surpass this difficult moment.

And on the fifth day...

"Good morning Ori, how are you feeling today?" Sein asked

"Hmph." Ori was grumpy as the other days

"Come on Ori, I miss the happy spirit that used to talk to me…"

"..."

"Can I do something for you today?"

"..."

"Hungry? Want a bath? Wanna know a secret of mine? Can I continue my story about my sisters? What do you think?"

Ori would not let be moved by her words, still laying down, he ignored Sein.

"I know you're sad for Atsu, and nothing I say will make you feel better, so… That's it I guess. By now you should have recovered Ori, feel free to move again."

Sein hovers around for a few seconds.

"Why don't you just zap me to do what you want?" Ori asked.

Sein was surprised he finally said something, his question was something peculiar. She gathered her thoughts to answer him. This could be her chance to boost his self-esteem.

"Zap you? You ask why I don't force you to do our mission? Well, let me tell you what the zap is exactly."

Facing away from Sein, Ori opened his eyes to pay attention.

"It's just a simple form of light bending that I can do. I turn a tiny amount of my light into a thin needle. The zap is just that one single needle piercing your head and poking your brain. Do you understand? Now, imagine thousands of them…"

Ori moved his ears and raised his head. He looked at Sein and saw her majestic light enveloping their camp. Slowly reaching him.

"...In just one second, I could remove your name and erase your memories. Everything you felt and lived would be washed away. I would take control of your every action, you would say what I wanted you to say, move to where I say to, and so on. I would turn you into a puppet, as I once said in the Moon Grotto."

Sein's light turned their camp in a paradise in the skies, blue light colored skies. Clouds and birds flew singing, the sight was breathtaking and quite shocking, Ori stood up, standing in thin air.

"My dear, I am the wisp of Peace and Serenity. I learned much in my immortal lifetime. I have met and lost many friends throughout the years. I once hated my mission and my existence, but it would soon change when I met my first spirit guardian, let's say he changed me... Through time, I also chose to love and care for those I was responsible for. My sisters and I, together with our spirit trees, have as our most sacred rule to give free will to our spirit guardians. The Spirit Tree gives birth to our protectors, but it won't judge any of its children, and we are in no position to judge either."

Ori had a little difficulty in understanding all of her words but still, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"You see… When you ask why I don't zap you, it is simple. I love you too much to do such a thing. I won't force you to do anything. The only exception I get to zap you when it is to aid you, never otherwise. I promise not to control you or change you to my liking, no wisp should do such a thing. You are a living being with feelings and desires. No one can take it from you. So it is completely fair and normal to be sad for a friend. I believe you can save him, I believe we can save him."

The sky paradise was slowly fading away.

"I know that it's wrong to force you to do such a dangerous adventure when you are just so young. I wished I never had to send you to the misty woods. I truly wished… Please forgive me"

"Sein..." Ori spoke

Sein would now discover if she managed to help him.

"It is I who should apologize. I am... tired of crying for Atsu..." He paused. "I don't want to cause more problems for you. I know the situation we are living in right now… It's just… I can't deal with loss anymore! The more I live these moments the worse it gets for me."

Ori made a a another pause.

"I thank you for the kind words, for your kindness. I appreciate it a lot, you are in par with my mother by just how kind you can be Sein. I promise to not trouble you so much anymore. I will work harder to grow up, I have to."

Sein was emotionally overjoyed, she flies up to him and bumps gently on his forehead.

"You're not troublesome my dear. You are a living being with feelings and a heart. Without speaking of your age, a loss will always impact anyone. No matter how old or how strong one's will is."

Ori breathes deeply and reaches for Sein.

"When I asked why you don't zap me, I kinda meant to make me stop crying and forget what makes me sad, but now I know much more than why you don't do it'. Your insight was really special. I thank you again, Sein. I won't keep you waiting any longer."

Ori was feeling a lot better now, he was determined to continue their journey. He ate all the food available to him and stretched his body to begin moving swiftly again.

"So, we ventured the misty woods with a goal, and here it is."

Ori shows the Gumon Seal.

"We need to put this little thing to use. So we can restore the winds!"

"Yes, we do." Sein replied. "The element of winds rests deep within the Forlorn Ruins. It will be another really dangerous adventure Ori, do you still wish to proceed?"

"Yes. The faster we stop the decay the better for the forest, right?"

"Indeed. This time, I won't be separated from you no matter what."

"I know you won't! You love me just that much!"

"I surely do my beloved spirit."

Ori finally could rest his mind knowing that Atsu would be fine and waiting for his return. Sein finally managed to make Ori happy again. She had yet another strong moment to increase the bond with this particular spirit. Their friendship just grows, and their mission awaits.

The duo continues and leaves their small camp in the mountain close to the canyon.

"Hey Sein, how do we get to the ruins?"

"Do you remember that cliff we jumped from?"

"You mean the one you pushed me off"

Sein lets a little laugh escape

"That was not funny you know." Ori said

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me, *ahem*. We need to take a path under this canyon, which means we shall go down there again."

"Hm, at least I learned to glide don't you agree with me, Sein?"

"Definitely! I wonder who taught it to you? It must be a very wise and powerful entity."

"Oh yeah, and also very reckless."

Ori and Sein laugh together.

Ori prepared to jump and glide down. He was a lot more confident when to use the feather, it saved them from many hazards that possibly could not be dodged with a double jump or without a source to bash from. Gliding usually is the safest option when going down or just navigating through the air.

As Ori glided...

"Do you think there will be ugly frogs again down there?" Ori asks

"Maybe. They were hidden when we first got here." Sein replies.

"Then Ori, just maneuver to that side over there. Our passage lies beyond one of the stone floors."

Ori adjusted his direction and went to where Sein pointed, more to the far left side of the pit. The stone floor had many cracks. Ori lands and feels a cold current coming from the cracks.

"Sein, I think I found the passage"

"That was quick! Nice job Ori."

"It feels really cold. Do you feel the wind coming through the cracks?"

Sein remembered a few things she should be worried before going further

"Ori, I need to tell you something important."

Ori grants Sein his attention.

"Whats is it?"

"Before we can move further. I need to make sure you will be able to resist the crushing cold atmosphere of the ruins"

"Crushing cold atmosphere?" Ori repeated.

"Yes, the forlorn ruins usually had another name. After the catastrophe that happened here, the winds are lethal and may freeze you to death if you are unprepared."

"I… I don't know if I am prepared. What can I do?"

Sein also did not know how he could protect himself from the winds. She just had one option.

"I can do one thing to protect you, which is to make the bubble of warmth to keep the winds away. It will protect you but you have to hold me close, and I won't be able to take any other action while I maintain the barrier. I fear that we may have to deal with a similar experience like in the misty woods, but this time, the haze is the wind, and if I fail you'll quickly freeze to-" Sein interrupted herself

"Sein." Ori pulled her attention.

"You don't need to worry, I won't ever let you go. If I have to use my hands, I'll just hold you in my tail. Simple isn't it?"

Sein flashed a bit.

"Sorry for difficult things. Now… Are you ready my dear?"

"I am. Let's open the path, give me a bit of your light to break this fragile ground"

Sein gave her light to enhance Ori's strength for a brief moment. Ori punches the cracked ground and opens the way. Harsh winds come out of the passage pushing the duo violently

"Wow. Never seen such enraged winds like that. Come here Sein, let us begin."

Sein was worried, but his determination made her go forth. She floats to his hands and concentrates, creating the bubble of warmth around Ori. it blocked the cold wind and allowed him to move in the windstorm without getting pushed.

"Let's go, Sein. The wind awaits."

Ori went through a wide tunnel. Nothing was in the path except for the overwhelming winds blowing. He moved slowly and kept his guard up, any strange sound would not escape his ears. After a few minutes of walking, he could see the end of the tunnel, leading outside.

"We are almost there, Ori."

Upon reaching the end of the tunnel, Ori could see a whole new land buried in the snow. A giant blizzard gusted everywhere and it was also dark. Almost no light could be seen with so many clouds in this place.

"Ori, welcome to Feihar, the home of the Gumon. Now known as the Forlorn Ruins."

A ruined city. It would be there, that the element of wind is located.

The winds destroyed much of the landscape turning it into the Forlorn Ruins. All the gumon that lived here paid with their life on that fateful night. The winds still blow violently in this place and who knows what could live here.

"Sein… What is this place?" Ori tried to analyze the landscape, his ears drooped all the way down

Observing the landscape from the exit of the tunnel. Ori had a very high altitude to see everything. Or rather, what could be seen in the dark blizzard and the windstorm.

"This is all that's left of once a lush and green land. This is where the gumon race built miraculous structures and infused them with the light of the Spirit Tree to keep themselves safe from the decay.

"On the day I met these spider-like creatures I saw their dark origins. They did not offer harm when they first arrived in Nibel and came to me seeking my blessing and a home. I gave this grand area for them to build and strive, they had proven to be very kind with our spirits and wildlife alike. Their food usually were insects and fruits."

Ori slowly moved down the hill and through the land, approaching the ruined city.

"One day, a representative of the race came to me wanting to repay the favor. He said that the entire race would be the protectors of the winds. They built the city of Feihar around the element. As you can imagine of a city, they had not an empire and had no king. The gumon just wanted to build their things and every gumon could live like how they wanted."

"In signs of distrust and crimes, the gumon punished their own with their discipline that I don't know much about. I don't know much about their culture in its entirety. In the end… It's my fault what happened here."

"Your fault?" Ori asked.

"When Kuro removed me from the Spirit Tree… The balance I was responsible for was shattered. That day I felt the gumon dying because I wasn't paying attention. The winds killed them all and I slept for years in that dead-end…" Sein glowed in a grey tone.

Ori could feel the sadness hovering the place. A ghost city that was once a striving society that embraced the light. Now destroyed by what they sought to protect. The sorrow from Sein's words could easily make him cry for the gumon fate if they were not in a windstorm.

"Don't blame yourself, Sein. I had my part to play that night as well. We could not predict such events."

Ori and Sein reach the city. They walk the forgotten streets of Feihar. They see all the infrastructure, their designs of buildings. It had a very fine touch of architecture. Unfortunately, Ori will never be able to behold the city in its prime days. How it truly would look like.

"Ori, enter one of the structures. One that is safe."

"What's wrong?"

"I need to rest a moment, maintaining this barrier is harder than you think."

"Oh, okay."

Ori enters one of the ruined structures. It had a very peculiar design inside, with many markings and runes of some sort.

"I think we are safe here, you can rest Sein. It's quite dark in here too."

Sein dismisses the bubble and illuminates the place.

"Wow. Look at this, what are these?" Ori questions the strange writing

"There are braziers in here, I'll light them."

With the braziers lit, Sein checks the writing all over the walls, she tries to read them.

"I just don't know what's written… It is gumon language right?" Sein asked

"I can read them!" Ori announced.

"Me neither… I wonder- Wait what?"

"It reads: Be thankful for your lands. Be thankful for your creativity. We are one, and together we make the home of the Gumon."

"Hm, what do you think Sein?"

"This is some fascinating light bending you have Ori, even I can't explain how you understand this. Answering your question: I am not familiar with the gumon culture, but it seems a reminder for themselves, to always be thankful… Maybe they were thanking me?"

"Quite possible." Ori said. "You gave these lands to them right?"

"Yeah… Now I'm feeling bad again…"

"Sorry Sein, want a hug?" He invited her with open arms.

"I do my dear."

Sein entered in the range of his arms, embracing his soft touch with appreciation and shining many times. Once they stopped hugging, Ori seemed bothered with something.

"Is something wrong, Ori?"

"Hm… Why don't you let me squeeze you?"

Sein was caught off guard. She usually doesn't allow to be pressed against his chest.

"Ahn… It hurts"

Ori wasn't convinced.

"It's not a hug without the squeeze, come here again."

Ori opened his arms waiting for Sein.

"No need my dear I am much better now. Thank you for the hug. It was really meaningful."

"Come. Here." Ori demanded

"Ahn… I am shy you know…"

Ori stood awaiting.

"Look, I am almost recharged. Next, we should move to-"

"Hello? Anyone in there?" Someone called.

Ori and Sein heard a voice. It seemed it was talking to them.

"Sein, who is that?" Ori was concerned.

"Stay calm, I kinda recognize that voice..."

"Hellooooooo"

Ori and Sein awaited the voice to approach.

"Sein, I'm scared!"

"Shh, I don't feel a decay presence. The voice is familiar, it's not an enemy."

"Excuse me..." The stranger arrived.

A spirit reveals themselves before Ori and Sein, both equally shocked by the surprise.

"Oh my, I found life in this cold place! Amazing!" The stranger said.

"No way…" Ori said.

"Ario!" Sein greeted the stranger

The stranger was a spirit that wore a great traveling cloak. He revealed his face.

"Sein! Long time no see!"

The stranger sees Ori and approaches the young spirit.

"And you are?" The stranger asked

Scared, Ori takes distance from the stranger. Ori had never seen another living spirit up close.

"This is Ori." Sein answered.

"Oh. Hello Ori, how are you doing?"

"I recommend giving him some space. He will soon be quite curious about you."

"He will?" the stranger stared at Ori.

"Yes. Just give him some space, and watch him coming closer slowly."

The stranger obeyed Sein and faced away from Ori. Just a few moments after, Ori kept staring at him as he chats with Sein.

"Glad to see you again. How have you been?" Sein asked

"Sein, my condolences for what happened here."

"Don't be sorry, you were traveling distant lands. How are the paintings?"

"I have painted so many beautiful lands, wildlife, and spirits across the world! You need to check it out."

"I certainly will, but what brings you to this windstorm?"

The stranger wasn't so scary anymore. Instead, Ori became quite interested to know him, so he got closer.

"Who... who are you?" Ori asked

The stranger feels happy to see the young spirit taking courage.

"Ah forgive me, I still didn't introduce myself."

The stranger takes off his great cloak.

"My name is Ario, I am a traveling artist."

Ario was quite taller and older than Ori. He had the same characteristics as a spirit except for the two short horns-like tufts on the top of his head like Ori's. Ario had two tufts on top of his head plus one below each ear, a fearless look and he also had a green backpack made with vines and leaves.

"Answering your question Sein: I wanted to see the beauty of the ruins and paint something, even though it is too hard to enjoy anything here or pay respects to the fallen with this annoying wind."

Ori wanted to ask...

"How are you protected from the wind?"

"Ah, it's because I ate this special fruit." Ario shows a red berry.

"This boosts your resistance to cold and wind for whole hours."

"That berry, it's not from Nibel…" Sein observed.

"That is correct. They are a local fruit in Altum, blessed by Seid herself."

"And it protects you from the cold? Impressive I must say. Seid sure has the ways to let travelers enjoy her icy forest." Sein said.

"Yes, she has. She is very lovely, pun intended. She likes to aid others, such a kind soul."

So Interested, Ori wanted to know more about him. He said to be an artist. But before he could ask more questions...

"Sein, can we talk a bit in private?" Ario invited her.

Sein granted his wish and asked Ori to give them a bit of privacy. Ori stood away, itching to hear what they were discussing.

"Am I seeing this right? Is he your chosen?" Ario asked.

"No, he is not. He is still too young and my Spirit Tree inst dead"

"Oh, I see, but you're making him your champion, right?"

"Ahn… It's a bit too soon to decide. He doesn't know much about the role of a spirit guardian. I don't want to turn him into a warrior."

"Sein, listen to me. You won't be able to protect him forever, you must teach him how to defend himself, teach him the way of light bending. I can guarantee he is your champion just by how close you are to him. Another thing Sein, time is your worst enemy and also your best ally. You might not get what I mean, but allow him to learn everything from you before time teaches him. Let him flow slowly, there is no rush."

Sein became quite worried listening to Ario, he gave her a lot to think about.

"I heard that you won't even allow him to give you that type of hug… Do you think he won't discover it soon? You should tell him the truth, there is much for him to learn."

"How the hell did you hear that?" Sein asked.

"Don't underestimate my hearing. Why don't you tell him why you won't let him hug you?"

"He did hug me! I just... I love him too much to bother him with such thing."

Ori wants to hear what they are chatting, he tries to get closer slowly and quietly.

"But the seed of doubt has already planted Sein, I know you wish the best for him, but what if the worst occurs? He must be prepared. His innocence today could be a problem tomorrow."

Ori was almost in range to hear.

"Listen Ario, I know you have your concerns but I will preserve his innocence and childhood. He is already growing fast with our journey and at times he doesn't act like a child at all but as an adult. Time may be a problem, but it also will be good for him to enjoy life."

"Are they talking about me?" Ori thought to himself.

"Your call Sein, I just think you could prevent a few difficulties on the way, but enough of that. Let's not keep Ori waiting. I bet he has a lot of questions."

Ario and Sein return to Ori, who was obediently waiting at a proper distance, and quite excited.

"Ori, my guy. Sorry to keep you waiting" Ario said.

Ori could finally quench his curiosity.

"Ario, how can you draw? Can I see it?

"Straight to business. That is how I like it." Ario said. "Well, of course, you can. I'd be honored to show you, check this out"

Ario picks a quill pen from his backpack.

"This is my pen, and the world is my canvas."

Ario moved his pen through the air, wherever the pen goes a trail of shiny light followed.

Ori was speechless by the light bending technique. It was so fancy, it changed colors many times and it stayed on thin air without disappearing.

"This is just one way to use the light by our will, It's called light bending. I draw my painting like this, and once it is done…"

Ario snaps his fingers. Now being able to hold what he drew.

"It turns solid and is forever saved in this picture. The colors change to my will as well, I can draw anything in any way I desire. I just need to see something and capture it. Some may take more time than others, but in the end… It is worth the patience and dedication."

Ario proceeds and picks more paintings from his backpack. He shows Ori one by one, telling the backstory of each painting and how he was inspired to capture them.

Ario shows one painting of Altum, he captured a local spirit guardian. The white snow was the dominant color in the painting

"Wow! Is this a spirit of Altum?" Ori asked.

"It is! You know about them?"

"Sein told me about Altum, I wish to go there." Ori analyses the painting. "This spirit is so pretty, the tail is so fluffy. I wanted this much fur too."

"Altum is so nice, Ori. And isn't so cold like others mention. If you ever feel cold, you can take those berries and the cold won't bother you anymore. The spirits there are quite hard to spot. You see, spirits have literally camouflage in the snow with our white fur. And more than that, you should embrace an Altum spirit, it feels so good." Ario laughs.

Ori daydreams about Altum, he wonders how it is to live there.

Ario picks another painting. This time it showed a frog being eaten by a giant plant in a jungle.

"Ario! Don't show such things to him!" Sein said.

"Why is the plant eating the frog?" Ori asked.

Ario was a bit embarrassed.

"This is a common scene in Noiton. There are many types of carnivorous plants. This poor frog had a bad day, probably his last too."

"Noiton!" Ori spoke with enthusiasm. "Do you have a picture of a spirit there?"

"Of course, my guy, here."

Ario shows a picture of a spirit of Noiton diving into water, Ori stared at the painting so fascinated.

"I bet you like their tail, am I right?"

Ori slowly picked his tail.

Ario laughs as he nails it.

"I can understand that. If you like the Noiton's spirits tail, then you must like the spirits of Hoa."

"Hoa?" Ori repeated

"You never heard about it before? Can I do the honors, Sein?"

"Of course, go ahead." Sein said excitedly

"Well then, feast your eyes on this Ori."

Ario shows a painting of a new forest, with majestic and vast gardens. Flourishing with many colors and many types of flowers

Ori sees the painting for a long moment. He imagines himself running in the flower field as he hears Ario.

"Think in a land where beauty is a passion, with glorious poetry and desire for the most luxurious knowledge. A forest of artists, writers, musicians, compositors, a forest where art can strive in any form and shape. That forest is Hoa."

"Wow. So beauty is everywhere in Hoa? Ori asked.

"Yes, in any way you can think of. Be it in cooking, flying, swimming, singing. The flora as you can see is outstanding."

"Show me more about Hoa!" Ori pleaded

"I have so much to show you, take your time. I ain't going anywhere."

Sein watched her spirit enjoy every second listening to Ario. She takes distance to ponder about the future. About the forest and about what Ario said earlier. She looks outside and the windstorm mixed with the blizzard probably won't stop until the element is restored. What dangers is she going to make Ori go through? Kuro is still out there, she is hunting the light… Sein pondered by herself.

"Have a look at this one, this is my finest painting of Hoa"

Ori sees a new painting of a huge landscape of Hoa, with many cherry blossom trees and powerful colors blending in the beautiful nature of fashion. Looking at the painting, Ori notices a Giant Sakura tree, it is holding a purple light."

"Hey Ario, that giant pink tree... Is it a Spirit Tree?"

"Yes it is, it's the Spirit Sakura. It's that tree that holds Seip, the wisp of Beauty and Wealth. As you can see, her color is a cool purple. Some say it's the fanciest color."

"She creates everything that is beautiful in the forest?" Ori asks.

"She does, but it's not only her. Many of the spirits and creatures also create a lot of things. Seip and her tree are what create the majestic flora.

"With such tranquil atmosphere, the animals are all well civilized and harmonic beings. I believe Hoa is overall the most peaceful place in the world. Any violence or deaths caused by it is considered an extreme crime there.

"Even predators that prefer meat to eat must follow the rules. Seip banishes anyone out of Hoa that taints the beauty of the forest with blood. Life also has beauty and death takes it all away. Only time may create a beautiful death, and not predators, not diseases. All there must feed with what nature provides, it is forbidden to eat the meat of other living animals, and not even mention if a spirit there is hurt. Sheesh…"

"What happens if a spirit is hurt?" Ori was curious.

"A wisp can love their spirits, and by a lot. In Hoa, the punishment to intentionally hurt physically a spirit is petrification. Seip will turn anyone in a statue of stone. Even if the punished holds a frightened pose, Seip changes and modifies the statue to something more pretty with a better facial expression. She can be quite scary, any wisp can be honestly; you just need to know what makes them angry."

After hearing about the punishments of Seip. Ori notices Sein is not paying attention...

"Ario, what do you think of Sein? What is her method of punishing?"

Ario thinks a little...

"Hm, during my entire life I have never seen or heard of Sein doing that type of punishment, I fear the day we actually see it."

"For real? She gets angry with me all the time."

"Ah Ori, trust me, you have never seen Sein angry. Some say she will burn everything in thousands of miles around. Or that she will raise the seas to swallow the whole forest. No one wants to see the day come, so nobody will directly search a way to anger her."

A bit scared, Ori asked something different

"What do you think of Sein in general?"

"What I can say is: Sein is the kindest wisp that there is. She is affectionate, calm, and wise. Essentially, she is a cinnamon roll. Her kindness is the greatest among the sisters. For example, Nibel is the only forest that holds over 90 intelligent species living in it, without speaking in wild animals and insects. Although Nibel is not in a good state at this moment, our forest is a fine place to live. I am Nibelian too, I was born in this forest."

"I see…" Ori wonders. "That makes me think, are we brothers, Ario?

"Hm, that's quite a very delicate and peculiar question, we could say yes and no at the same time. We are and we are not. It all comes in perspective and of course, with a bond."

"What do you mean?" Ori was intrigued.

"By law, all spirits are biological siblings, however, that means nothing since no spirit may consider the next as one without a reason. You may see me as your brother, but I may not consider you one, therefore we are not brothers without a bond to connect both of us. Summarizing, relationships need to take part altogether. The Spirit Tree gave us free will, and the spirits will decide whatever they want for themselves. It applies to all forests."

"Hm…" Ori wondered about Atsu and Tatsu.

"During much of my travels, for example, I have seen spirit couples. Spirits of the same Spirit Tree being couples, although that could be seen as a problem for some, it's up to the spirits present and only to them to decide what they want. No one should judge the other's freedom of choice.

"Ahn, I think this is not quite a good example for sibling love among spirits, but an affectionate and pure relationship is a common thing too. Two or more just need a reason to bond with themselves, be it with an act of kindness, a feeling of empathy, or anything else.

"Love has all kinds of shapes and forms. This is something you'll learn with time."

Ori was so intrigued...

"During your time in Hoa, have you seen any spirit couples?" Ori asked.

"I see you're curious yourself, Ori, however, this is not a thing we should discuss with a wisp so close to us. I don't know if Sein would approve this conversation and I don't want to discover. Let's stop here."

"Please!" Ori said a bit loud.

Sein, who was lost in thoughts, heard Ori a bit too excited and decided to hear the two talking.

"Don't raise your voice. If Sein hears this conversation we are screwed."

"Sein probably doesn't care about it, she is very nice. You can tell me." Ori was excited.

Ario sighs.

"I'm gonna regret it. Just this time okay?"

Ario clears his throat.

"Yes, I have seen couples in Hoa. The spirits there can be really curious about pretty much anything. Seip sees beauty in a romantic relationship and so it's far more common there. In other forests couples also exist, but perhaps in lesser numbers, this varies for many different reasons. Now can we speak about something else?"

"Do you have a painting of a couple? I want to see one!"

"Ori, listen, I don't think that is important to you right now."

"Show him Ario." Sein said.

Ario felt like it was death itself whispering in his ears.

"Now that you mentioned it, go all the way… Please"

"Oh shit… You were listening." Ario turned around.

"Quite a lot… Interesting topic for you to be talking to a curious child."

"Please forgive me, Sein. I won't speak of it again."

Ori had to protect Ario.

"Sein, don't be mad at him! I wanted to know more, it's my fault so be mad at me instead."

"Such a sweet spirit he is, isn't that right Ario? I allow you to show a couple. Otherwise, he won't stop and will be sad. Satisfy his curiosity now. If you show anything beyond the border you are going straight to you know where."

"She gave permission Ario! Show me, show me!"

Ario truly was fascinated by his enthusiasm.

"You little… I got in some trouble here don't you see!"

"Give me please!"

Ario sighs

"Here it is. Enjoy."

Ario picks yet another painting from his bag. It showed Hoa during night time, and two Hoan spirits facing away. They were together with hands and tails united, they shared a kiss below the great moon with thousands of stars in the sky.

Ori analyzed the picture, quickly blushing. His breathing became heavier

Sein were not happy with his reactions.

"A kiss!? You didn't have anything more simple? Like hand-holding?"

"Ah, I believe not, hehe." Ario replied embarrassed.

"They…"

"They…" Ori tried to say something

"What have you done, Ario." Sein comments

"Hey, you said to show it!"

"You should've shown something lighter!"

"But it's just a kiss!"

"Fix the mess you caused! Right now!" Sein glowed, charging her light.

"Alright, no need to get heated." Ario then turns to Ori.

"They…"

"Calm down my guy, it's just a ki-"

"THEY HAVE TWO TAILS!" Ori yelled.

After the yell, silence filled the room. Ario and Sein processed the current turn of events.

In a few seconds, Ario was just shocked and Sein completely burst into laughter.

Ario tried to understand.

"What? What about the rest of the painting? What about the couple?"

Sein could not stop laughing, going up and down.

"They have, TWO TAILS, EACH!"

Ario also started to laugh uncontrollably

"I can't! I can't even-" Sein failed to speak

"This is not funny!" Ori was slightly pissed

"Ario!" Sein tried to speak.

"You didn't, you didn't show him the spirits of-" Sein fails to speak again.

"I was getting there!" Ario said laughing

"You should have done it from the start!" Sein couldn't even fly anymore.

"This is not fair! I want two tails too!"

Sein and Ario had the best moment of their day.

Ori felt a little let down as he wanted to talk about the Hoan spirit and they just laughed. He stood quietly in a corner waiting for them to stop laughing.

"Hey, Ori" Ario wanted to apologize. He goes closer to Ori.

"Sorry for laughing like that. Do you wanna see anything else? Or wanna know more about Hoa?"

Ori was already feeling better.

"Let me guess, you wanna see a Hoan spirit?"

Ori nods.

"Sure thing, this time a normal painting for you to see how the Hoan spirit is up close."

As Ori looked mesmerized to the Hoan spirit, Sein used this opportunity to ask Ario...

"Speaking of Hoa, did you show him the libraries?"

"Hm, I fear I did not paint that…"

"What? It's the best part of Hoa! Think about it: huge libraries stocked with the knowledge of the long past, stored across many generations. How did it not sound interesting to you?"

"I guess I am not very much into scrolls. Whoops."

"There is everything about the story of our world, maybe even about Sei. You must go back there and paint it!"

"Sounds good. Next time, I'll do that."

Since Ario joined them, Ori and Sein forgot their mission for the time being. The young spirit was having a lot of fun.

...

Before they knew, it was already time to rest. Ori could not resist and fell asleep on Ario's lap.

"You sure did an impact on him." Sein said.

Gently stroking Ori's fur, Ario rejoiced. The sight of the young spirit sleeping gave him peace.

"I just wanted to make him happy. He deserves every bit of it."

"And you did Ario, we thank you for the good time."

"My pleasure, Sein. I wish I could do more. At least I could show him some landscapes of the world."

"It's interesting for him to see more of the world out there. So he doesn't feel stuck on his…" Sein hesitates

"Giant responsibility?" Ario finishes the phrase.

"Yes…"

"Sein, I fear for the future of this little guy. Much more will be asked of him. After you return to the Spirit Tree, how will you give him the attention he needs?"

"I… I don't know."

"Take your time Sein. Do not rush him to do the mission. The decay is a threat, but it will take years to look scary. I know that. I have seen worse.

"Give him as many pauses he needs. Tell him all the stories of the world. Let him enjoy life. Even when we stand in a ruined city, with harsh winds waiting to hurt us. Moments like this will aid him to move forward.

"Let him take it slowly, so he can appreciate the art of his surroundings, wherever he goes."

Sein felt the weight of his words.

"For him to be in a place like this, I know you've been doing a great job. Keep it up, Sein. He needs you as much as you need him. As I said earlier, let him learn from you, before time forbids it."

Ario moves his gaze to Sein. He was confident, his thoughts proved to be true.

"If he is not your chosen, make him your champion. After you two restore the winds, teach him the way of light bending. He will need it."

"I'll consider it Ario, rest assured."

"Glad to know."

"Ario, what will be your plans from now on?"

"Let's see... I came here to paint something, but since I can't do that, I will just travel somewhere else."

"You won't come with us?" Sein asked

"Probably not, if Ori grows too attached to me I might need to take him with me. Layla would love to have a child like him..." He caringly pets him.

Sein understood his wish.

"Aw, Layla would burst, right?

"She would, she loves cute things."

"I'm glad you're doing well out there." Sein shined a little bit.

"I wonder about that, Sein. I have only mistakes to look back to."

"Mistakes?" Sein asked. "You brought hope for so many souls already, including today. Know that he will always be proud of you."

"I'm flattered, but I've been just following his steps…"

Sein takes a moment.

"Ario, stay with us a little longer, please. Do it for Ori."

Ario starts to think...

"Hm, I can see the moment I'll introduce him to some really curious Hoan spirits, can't wait to paint the scene."

"Reconsidering, it's better for you to stay away from Ori." Sein said.

Ario laughs.

"Don't worry Sein, I am not taking your dear anywhere. So take good care of him."

Sein's light flashed a bit.

As Ori sleeps peacefully, Ario gently moves him out of his lap to stand up.

"We will meet again." Ario picks his great cloak.

"We are counting on it Ario. Say hi to Layla for me."

"Sure thing." Ario pauses. "One last thing Sein, Kuro's nest is located somewhere close to these ruins. Be careful."

Sein gets slightly scared.

"She lives around here? How do you know that?"

"I have met her while traveling, I know it because I found it."

"By the light, Ario, are you okay? Why haven't you told me this earlier?"

"I'm fine. Escaping from huge creatures of the dark is kinda my specialty. So don't worry about me."

"Ario, Kuro is not just a huge creature, but an avatar of vengeance. She is hunting our light and we don't know why. You and Ori are her targets, do not underestimate her. If you ever need help, come to me, I will assist you."

"I thank you, Sein. Rest assured now, I have been in worse cases."

Ario looks at Ori for one more time...

"Farewell Sein, give my regards to him. If he gets sad tell him I just went to paint something new for him to see. Also, give him the berries, I have a lot of them with me. Give him these and you won't need to protect him from the wind."

"Thank you, Ario. Safe journeys."

"Remember what we talked about. Take care of him."

With his last word, Ario moved out of the structure. Braving the winds and vanishing in the distance.

Sein felt heartbroken. This was just another goodbye in her life. How many times did she live in this scene? There were worse cases, but it is still all the same. Goodbyes will always be heavy and difficult for her. She looks at Ori and ponders about the future again. She wouldn't let any harm come to him. Not even from any of her sisters.

…

The winds still harshly blow outside. It is impossible to tell if it's morning or night in the ruins. So much snow flying around and the clouds won't move an inch. It is still very dark outside the structure they are in.

Ori wakes up comfortably with Sein keeping him warm and protected from the cold weather of the ruins.

The young spirit looks around and doesn't see Ario. His ears instantly droop down.

Sein still sleeps. Ori feels like waking her up but decides to sleep a bit more.

…

"Wake up sunshine." Sein said.

Waking up again Ario still is nowhere to be found. With a sad expression on his face, Sein already knew what was going inside his mind.

"You know…" Sein flew closer to Ori.

"He enjoyed his time with you. I ordered him to come back to us as soon as possible. Wanna know what he said to me?"

"What did he say?" Ori asked in a sad tone

"I'll bring more paintings of new forests, he said. When next I meet Ori I will have more stories to tell him."

Ori wanted to believe. Sein imagined that she wasn't convincing enough.

"Don't be sad Ori, we will meet him again. He promised me that."

"It's fine. I should have expected he wouldn't stay for long…"

Sein remained in silence.

"Say, Sein, were you angry because I wanted to see a couple?"

"Not at all." She replied. "I have seen much in my life, but I too, think this is not something important to you right now."

"Why is this a complicated matter to talk openly?" Ori asked.

"I believe this question will be answered later. The wind awaits us."

"Oh right. I almost had forgotten. If we weren't in this place."

Leaving what is bothersome behind. Ori took some time to refocus on their original goal: restoring the winds.

"So, how are we gonna make this? We can't spend so much of your energy moving around."

"We don't need to. Don't you remember?"

Ori had forgotten about the berries.

"Oh! The berries, did he leave some here?"

"Yes. Look over there."

Sein pointed to the berries with her light

"Awesome! I wanted to know what their taste is like."

"Go ahead."

Ori picks the berries and eats one. The taste is surprisingly good. The berries had a strong sour mixed with a sweet flavor. As this is a new type of fruit that Ori eats, he bites every single one bit by bit until nothing remains.

"Woah, you could have saved for later don't you think?"

"They taste so good! I could not control myself"

"Well then, we have a new way to move through the ruins. You should be protected for whole days by just how many berries you ate."

Ori wanted to test the protection.

"Let's go!" He bolstered as he went to the windstorm.

But his mood was soon broken in a matter of seconds, Ori already felt so cold, his lightweight also was concerning. Ori was getting pushed easily as a leaf moved in the current. Maybe he wasn't as protected as they imagined.

Sein noticed the result wasn't pleasing so she decided to do something herself.

"Hold on, I can help you"

Sein took him back to the structure. Warming him up as they tried to understand why it didn't work.

"Well, I think the protection isn't that much." Sein observed. "At least you didn't freeze. Maybe the berries should work better in cold weather without so much wind. But how Ario could move around?"

Ori began wondering

"He had that thing covering him. Did it also protect him?" Ori observed.

Sein just remembers that he used a great cloak.

"I think it did! He wore it, so it had to be important. What about you getting one too?"

"He didn't have one for me…"

"I can make one for you, in a different color though."

"You can?!" Ori asked, stunned.

"Of course I can. Watch."

Sein crafts a great cloak using her light, it had the size for Ori and had a light blue color.

Ori just could not believe it, he had a great cloak for himself.

"Give me, give me!" He said excitedly.

Ori grabs the cloak and analyzes it up close with curiosity.

"It's so thick!" He observed.

"Well, it has to be." Sein replied.

In a few moments, he spins with the cloak trying to figure out how to wear it until he tangles himself in it.

"Dear, that's not how you wear it."

"Help me." He humbly asked.

Sein helps him and he finally wears it. He feels overjoyed in wearing the cloak. Finally, he could move within the cold wind.

"How can you create this thing so easily Sein?

"It's called a great cloak, Ori. I can conjure many things with my light. How do you think I gathered the food back at our camp?"

Ori wonders

"I didn't gather anything. I created the food you ate."

Ori wonders again.

"Did I... eat your light?"

"Yes, you did. The food I conjure still has the same beneficial properties as normal food would have. You're not disgusted are you?"

"So, I could just munch on you anytime I get hungry?

Sein paused for a moment.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, that was a strange thing to ask."

*Awkward silence*

"Anyway…" Sein changed the topic.

"I am never eating anything you give me from now on."

"Anywaaaay. Are you ready to try again?"

"Yes, let's hope it works now" He answered

Moving slowly out of the structure, he gets into the windstorm. Still feeling quite cold, it wasn't overwhelming like before. The winds were not pushing him as well.

"Everything okay Ori?"

"Hm… I think so, it's a bit cold but I can move normally, and the winds aren't blowing me away either"

"Maybe the berries needed some time to take effect" Sein observed

"Nah." Ori disagrees. "This cloak is doing wonders!"

"Independent of what it is, I'm glad you're fine now. Do you want to make holes on the hood for your ears or want to keep them hidden?"

"I want to keep them hidden, or they will get very cold"

"Very well then. Let's not dwell here and reach the element soon."

"Yes. Can't wait to get rid of this annoying wind. Show me the way, Sein."

They pressed forward as Ori could move better in the windstorm. They went through the ruins, observing the once so bright city. The runic writing was found in every single structure. Some couldn't be read because of the destruction. The few readable writing always said the same:

Thank her kindness.

We make the home of the Gumon.

Together we shall prove our valor.

Protect the wind as she protects us.

Glory to her light.

They worshipped Sein as their savior. Something unusual to see as no other race did it before. At least that was what the writing said.

"All these writings, were they worshipping you as some kind of god?" Ori asked.

"Not likely a god, but as their savior. And I don't think they all did worship me. Makes me fear what would happen if one gumon didn't follow this path."

Corpses now could be seen lying in many places.

Ori moves slower as he sees the gumon that perished in the cold.

"Those who couldn't escape paid with their life" Sein recited.

Ori remained in silence.

"I feel the same, Ori… I feel for Gumo…"

"..."

"Do you think he is here?" He asked.

"Maybe…" Sein answered

Ori did not want to hear that answer, and yet he asked for it.

"Where are we moving to Sein, where is the element?"

"The element is below us. We will need to get into the interior of the ruins, inside the ruined castle. We are close. The entrance to the inner ruins is close."

"Do you think anything can live in this place?" Ori asked

"I think it is impossible to anything live here" She replied.

Sein remembers the words Ario said.

...

"Kuro's nest is located somewhere close to these ruins. Be careful."

...

"This is only getting harder and harder." Sein thought to herself

Slowly moving through the devastated streets of Feihar. Sein felt a disturbing presence.

"Ori, stop."

Ori stops and awaits.

"Something is nearby."

It is always stressful to hear Sein warn about danger suddenly. Not completely surprising, Ori got stressed not because there is something nearby, but by what in name of the light could be living here.

It doesn't exactly live.

"What is this…? I can't understand."

"Sein, what's wrong?"

"Ori, the decay…"

Sein was acting strange.

"What's wrong Sein? What did you see?"

Ori feels tremors shaking the earth below him.

"What the…"

Sein is scared as she tries to analyze what is nearby.

"It… It is not alive…"

The ground shakes once more.

It is closer.

The land trembles.

Ori grabbed Sein and hid her in his cloak while moving to high ground.

The blizzard made it difficult to see anything, but Ori could also feel its presence. Until they saw.

A huge Gumon.

Partially hidden within the blizzard, two white spots as eyes could be seen. Moving very slowly it sends tremors through the land with each step.

"What the hell is this…?"

While hidden in Ori's cloak, Sein could finally see.

"Merciful light…Its Junku, the great gumon."

"Junku?" Ori repeats.

"One of the strongest gumon, he died and the decay took over his body.

"He's being controlled and the corruption made him grow in size. He became an undead giant!"

"What do we do?" Ori asked

"We should burn his body so he can rest. But… We can't deal with him right now. The element is still our top priority.

"Thankfully, the entrance to the inner ruins is not close to him. Come on Ori."

"Are we just leaving him roaming around?"

"We don't have any means to deal with Junku right now. Once I return to the Spirit Tree I can put him to rest."

Obliviously, Sein left the cover from Ori's cloak.

Ori gets startled as Sein naturally flies out of hiding.

"Sein! Come back here!"

The undead gumon notices the bright light of the wisp.

"Oh no…" Sein realizes her mistake.

Ori hides Sein within the cloak again.

"We gotta go!"

They run for their life.

...


	10. Wind Rider pt1

Running away from the biggest foe of their journey so far. Ori and Sein planned how to survive the new events.

"You should be more careful!" He shouted.

"Forgive me, I didn't think he would notice me."

The giant picked a big structure. It began searching for the light.

"He is armed!" Sein points out.

"Ah great. Can't get any better." Ori replies.

The giant slows down and searches for them. It gets infuriated.

"He is having difficulty seeing us. It's because of the cloak!"

"You don't say, Sein. Why do you think I hid you in it?"

"Forgive me!"

Ori and Sein had no plans on how to fight. They ran away to increase the distance

"What do we do? We can't fight it, can we?" Ori asks.

Sein senses imminent danger

"Ori! He's gonna throw that structure!"

Ori turned around and saw the giant building up strength to throw. He aims it at where he last saw the blinking light. Ori realizes he is vulnerable and must get out of the way. Time is too short, he won't be able to move out in time.

"Pick up the feather!" Sein orders.

"But the wind-"

"Do it!"

The giant throws the structure with anger. It crashes down so quickly that a wave of snow is formed, burying everything in the way. Ori dodges certain death thanks to the chaotic winds. While struggling to control the glide, the giant could see them again.

It's impossible to control and maneuver the glide in that condition. Ori tries to return to the ground, but the winds push him in many directions randomly. Ori had an idea to guard and pick up the feather many times in quick succession. It allowed him to not get carried and slowly reduce altitude.

The giant moved closer. It stretched its arm trying to pick the spirit. Sein charges her light to push him away. Her flames burn the giant gumon's hand and back's up. He soon puts out the flames and begins to chase again.

"Fly away from him!" Sein warned.

"I'm trying!"

Ori had to use the unstable winds to survive. The wind he hated would be his ally in this encounter.

The giant chases the spirit getting carried by the winds. Moving faster and faster, he crushes the ruined city in his steps.

"Ori, can you get closer to him?"

"I can't control where I am going! And why would we get closer now?"

"I will explode his face! Let's put him to rest."

"It's easy for you to say. I can't know if it will work!"

The giant lets out it's horrendous voice.

**"Light…"**

"Did it talk? Like right now?" Ori asked

"I don't understand gumon language!" Sein replies.

Strangely shaken, Ori felt something coming from the voice of the giant. It seemed like a cry for help.

Ori pulls one side of the feather trying to maneuver with all his strength, able to turn around and face the gumon. Soon to meet its giant hand, Ori suddenly drops down to avoid the giant's hand and pulls the feather back up. The winds blew him closer to the giant.

"Sein! Don't blast its face! Focus on his legs first!"

"If we hit his face this battle ends!" Sein arguments

"It won't save him!" He shouts

Sein didn't understand.

"Listen to me. Take out his legs so he stops moving!"

Ori lands on the giant arm. Moving into its shoulder.

"I have a way to save Junku. Don't just blast his face. Let us save him and not prolong its suffering!"

**"Light…"**

Ori felt anguish and sorrow coming from its voice.

"Fine! Let's follow your plan! How are we going to do this!?"

"Charge your light and blast its legs first. We will hinder his movement."

The giant moves its other hand to get rid of the spirit on its arm. Ori jumps down aiming for its lower body. Sein began charging her spirit flame.

While falling the giant searches the light. Ori is tricked by the winds and he is blown away from the giant.

"Push me closer Sein!"

Sein used her light explosion to push Ori closer and began charging up again.

The giant sees the small explosion and looks down. It clenches his fist to strike the land and everything nearby.

"Watch out!" Sein warns

Ori let the winds carry him away to avoid the shockwave.

The collision of the giant's fist to the land sends a huge earthquake though Feihar. Snow comes up like an eruption. Dust smokes from the structures are taken away by the winds

"Let's go again!" Ori says determinedly.

Ori drops down aiming for the giant legs once more. The giant lost them again.

Ori manages to get close enough to hold himself on the giant's knee. He observes his spirit light affecting the undead's skin.

"He won't feel pain right?" He asks

"He won't. Also, I suggest you face away. This might get pretty ugly." Sein replies

"Do it quickly. I will move away."

Ori takes flight and Sein blasts the giant's knee. Half of his right leg is separated from the body. No blood or anything comes out of the wound. Junku drops on his missing leg releasing a painful scream. He uses the right arm as support to not fall down. The left arm is swung around randomly hitting anything that would get close.

"He felt pain?" Ori asked himself

"What now?" Sein asks.

Ori regains focus. Something was off. While flying in the crazy wind they plan the next move.

"His arms. Once he is pacified I can save him. While he has his arms to attack, he will resist me."

"How are we doing it?"

"We need to-"

The winds push Ori violently to the ground. He resists the winds and changes his trajectory by double jumping to one of the nearby structures.

Junku roars unable to move. Slamming everything in range.

"Damn this wind. We need to blast his arms as we did on the leg. Since he won't stop moving them around we need to deal with them."

"I am listening." Sein replied.

"This won't be easy, I need you to blast him directly on the elbows. I will taunt him on top of his forehead and he will lift and bend his arm to hit me. His elbow will be easy to hit at that moment. Just blast it before he manages to punch himself."

"This is too dangerous. His arms are too long even to reach his elbow with you so far apart. If I remain away from you for too long I will lose my energy."

"I know. Because of that, I will try to follow you out but it will depend if the winds take me the right way."

"Then it's not safe Ori, we can't do this"

"We have to try it!"

Ori thinks about a new idea to help him.

"If I manage to jump and climb his fist to the elbow, I will be able to stay close so you can blast his arms off. He will hit himself in the process but he won't feel anything I guess."

"Sounds more reasonable now Ori. But mind explaining to me how you will save him? Do you plan to use your spirit light? What if it won't affect an undead like Junku?"

"It affects him. You must believe me."

Sein preferred not to argue.

"I understand. Let's see it done."

They began to move by ground. Running through the snowfield to attempt to climb his other leg and reach the forehead.

"Can't you go through the air?" Sein asked

"I can't trust this wind. It often has a chance to screw us instead of helping."

"Fair enough. I'll be ready."

Sein was already charging her light just to be safe.

**"No... More…"**

Ori began climbing the left leg of the giant, upon reaching its knee he reconsiders.

"Should we blast this leg off too?" Sein suggests

"Ahn…" Ori was in doubt

"We must act quickly. If we blast his other leg he won't be able to move at all. That was your plan, wasn't it? Besides, Junku is undead, he won't feel pain so don't bother with it."

Ori bit his lower lip trying to decide. He stops hesitating and answers Sein.

"Do it. But just let me get a bit of distance."

Ori kept moving and reached the gumon's chest. While climbing Ori felt something in the giant's body.

Very weak heartbeats.

"Heartbeats?! Then he is actually…"

Ori turns back to warn Sein.

"Sein! Don't-"

Sein blasts the remaining leg of Junku. Another agonizing scream echoed in the air and it was so loud that Ori almost lost consciousness.

"Ori, are you okay?" Sein asks.

He catches his breath to answer.

"I almost fell. Sein, you must know something, the gumon is ali-"

**"Stay…"**

After hearing the gumon, Ori changes his plans. He awaits while holding onto the giant.

Junku uses its arms as support to not fall. Eventually, he finds the gumon castle and rests his back on it. Once a bit more comfortable, Junku moves one hand closer to Ori and Sein.

Ori still awaited, discussing with Sein.

"Ori, you need to move!"

"It's okay Sein. I had something to tell you, Junku is alive."

Sein didn't believe it.

"Impossible. I can sense warmth inside living beings, and Junku has none. More importantly, he will crush you if you don't move!"

"He still has his heart beating Sein, and no, he will not crush me. Do not burn him."

When the gumon's hand got close, they stopped moving. Junku invited Ori to its hand.

Sein was so worried she kept her light charged.

Ori leaps to the gumon's hand. As the spirit is taken closer, they meet each other's gaze.

**"Miss… Light…"**

Junku looked so sad, he seems to have suffered so much. His eyes tell a story. Ori began to talk to him.

"You do feel pain… I won't hurt you again. I am sorry Junku.

Ori takes a moment.

"Hey, Junku, for how long were you waiting?" Ori knelt placing his hands on the gumon cold skin.

Sein observed in silence. She knew she shouldn't interfere.

"The light is here for you." Ori said.

The gumon remains in silence.

"It will be alright. I will take you home."

In the most simple touch, Ori's light began to make way into the gumon. Trails of white light ran though his skin. Slowly removing the stains of decay.

Junku felt comfort for the first time in years. As the light travels within its body, Ori could see his memories…

...

The day Junku was born... His parents welcomed him with a celebration.

"He is here you pieces of crap! Hurray for the next great lord of Feihar!"

The day Junku first participated in a holiday to pray for the kindness of Sein...

"Gather around children. We shall sing our prayers for the grand day our ancestors found this land. It's all thanks to Sein, the wisp of Peace and Serenity that we have food and a home. Recite after me..."

The day he met his first spirit guardian...

"Hey there, little gumon. Do you think you can be a warrior like us? I believe in you! Can't wait to fight by your side."

The day he finally reached his dream to protect the forest as they did...

"Glorious Light of Nibel! I, Junku, came to humbly ask for the title of protector. I wish to give my life for this forest as many others did. Please allow me to join the fight."

The moment he heard the answer of their beloved Savior...

"Junku of the gumon. I watched close your deeds and acknowledge your courage. I accept your humble request and bestow you, the mantle of protector of Nibel. Receive my light to press forward whenever darkness surrounds you. May it give you hope when only despair remains. Join the fight Junku. Spread the light wherever you go. May the Spirit Tree guide your steps."

The day of ruin...

"Junku! The wind is out of control! What do we do?" A soldier asked, stressed.

"Stay calm. Gather everyone who is not a soldier and take them away from the city. Take them to the forest quickly!"

"But sir, the winds are freezing our city with every passing second! Our warriors can't fight that which has no form!"

"We won't fight, soldier. Take the tunnels from the inner vault. It will lead to the Sunken Glades, where all will be safe. Now move!"

A while later...

"Merciful Sein… If you can hear me, please aid us…"

"Junku! Junku! Forgive my intrusion. I have ill news." A troubled soldier comes rushing in.

"Report." Junku said.

"The winds blocked all paths that lead out of the city! We are stuck in here!

"What about the inner vaults!? What happened to it? It should be secure from the wind!"

"It is sir. But the problem in the inner vaults is another."

"What is it?!" Junku asked.

"There is a horde of creatures stained in decay in the vaults. We can't use it to escape the city."

"No… It can't be. How..."

"What can we do sir?"

"Gather all available soldiers to the vaults. We shall open the way ourselves."

...

The day he perished...

"With courage, we stand! To reach peace we shall fight!"

"We march to the vaults! We shall restore our city once we reach Sein!"

"No hesitation! We will live to see another day!"

"FOR FEIHAR! FOR HER GLORY!"

…

Their faith and prayers were not answered that day as only cruelty fell upon their kind. The leader, Junku, fought bravely with all his might, but did not resist... In his final moments, he saw only death and carnage upon those he failed. His body was stained by the vile creatures and then...

...everything went dark.

...

After witnessing his memories, Ori felt a sorrow of what seemed like thousands of years. A poor soul, wandering in the cold alone, in his city.

Junku resists the light as he still had one more thing to do.

"It is okay Junku. You can rest now." Ori said.

Junku still resists.

"Hey, you don't need to worry anymore."

**"Sein…"**

Ori understood his wish.

"Sein, come closer. He wants to talk to you."

Sein hesitated to go closer. Her light shifted into her blue to gray many times. She remembers when she gave him her blessing and the mantle of a protector. Sein feels bad for not realizing he was alive all this time and her light made him suffer even more.

"Junku… I don't know what to say…" She confessed.

"Listen, Sein, even if you don't understand. Listen to him."

**"Fought…"**

**"Long…"**

Junku was not speaking in his native language, but in one Sein could understand. He swore to protect the forest. He studied everything to be able to reach Sein as one of the first soldiers of the gumon outside of Feihar. In his years of fighting together with the spirits against the decay, Junku would never forget the kindness of every friend he had met, never forget his family, and the kind light that shared her home with them.

**"Decay..."**

**"Strong…"**

In his fight within the inner vaults. He had met many creatures unknown by the light. Creatures of the decay. Monsters that know only destruction and thirst for blood, they came from somewhere, they flooded the only passage to safety the gumon had. It will be difficult to use the underground passages even today. Their defensive machinery somehow failed."

**"Forgive…"**

**"Wind..."**

A clear message to not blame the winds for what happened to Feihar. Nobody ever knew what happened to Sein on that fateful night. The gumon lost the protection of the light and the wind locked them all in the city. They did not know how to explain the behavior of the winds, but they won't blame Sein for it.

**"Junku..."**

**"Weak…"**

The gumon blamed himself for not being able to protect his race. The so-called pride of a leader. His men and citizens could not see a new day dawn, they all perished to the winds or the decay. The heartache for losing his friends one by one to the monsters haunts him even to this day.

**"Sein… Forgive, me..."**

He wanted to die for so long. So hurt and broken, there is no healing that the light can provide. He wishes to rest. To leave his corrupted body behind and meet the afterlife. With a saddening apology for what that could not be saved, he closed his ey-

"You are forgiven Junku!" Sein shouts crying.

"I won't ever forget you or your service! Your memory lives in Nibel forever! Thank you for everything!"

Junku almost could smile. He felt warmth for the first time in years.

Ori's light could now keep enveloping the giant slowly. Sein was unable to muster another word. Junku closed his eyes to see beyond this world, to see a new land waiting for him.

Ori and Sein remained in silence as Junku's body cracked. The light glowed stronger as he embraced it. They could feel his pain from years ago until this very present.

...

"Hey, Kimle! We need to get a present for Byek's birthday! What do you have in mind?"

"Like I would know Junku. Byek just like anything related to food. Give her that giant golden beetle you have as a trophy in your house. That would make a great gift."

"But it is an heirloom of my home! I can't give that to her!"

"Hm, maybe Haust, Trous or Naier could have some ideas for gifts."

"That's a good call. I'll ask them too. Thanks, Kimle."

...

Ori suffered seeing the echoes of his life running through the light.

"Why it had to be like this…?" His eyes watered up.

The giant gumon could hold his arms in place no longer. Ori descends and returns to ground level, observing the giant part from Nibel, part to somewhere brighter.

"Farewell Junku..." Ori said in a low tone.

Ori sat down and curled up to hide the tears. So bothered once more. Just another soul saved from this chaotic world.

The blizzard and clouds still hid the sky and sunlight. The gumon became a white beacon of light and he was restored to his normal size.

"AAAAHHHHH##H#H#"

Ori and Sein get startled by a sudden, twisted scream. They see a pink ooze leave the body of the gumon at high speed. It screams as it crashes in the snow close to them.

The disturbing pink ooze creature moved around observing Junku with its only eye. Ori stands up more seriously than ever.

"NOOO0O0OO00000!"

"MY PRECIOUS COCOON! MY PRECIOUS!

The ooze twitched and twisted itself in anger.

Ori observed the monster with eyes wide open. Sein whispered to him...

"Ori, stay calm… This is not a creature of light nor dark. Do not listen to it."

"SO MUCH WORK! SO MUCH WASTED! MY PRECIOUS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

The ooze notices the spirit all by himself.

"YOU! You destroyed my vessel!"

"Your... Vessel?" Ori repeated in a serious tone.

"YOU SHALL PAY VERMIN OF THE LIGHT! I WAS NOT READY TO LEAVE MY COCOON! I AM STILL A NEWBORN!

"I, HERDHAGARJ. Shall take your disgusting body as my new vessel. YOU WILL ALLOW ME TO GROW!"

"You did that to Junku…?" Ori asked. "You made him a giant and refused to let him die for the sake to grow inside his body like a parasite?"

"YES! Your pitiful brain of a lab rat can understand it, can't it?"

Ori tears up and rage begins building.

"You made him an undead that lives. He had no blood running through his body. No organ functioning. No lungs to breathe… And yet you kept him standing. You kept him alive and fed in his suffering!"

The monster tilted in many ways with its gelatinous body.

"I had the best time with that gumon. So defenseless to resist me in that pathetic tunnel of pathetic people. I had so much fun… And I could have kept it that way until you destroyed my pretty lair."

"How he had his heart beating monster!?" Ori asked yelling.

"Because I was feeding just a few of his vital organs to keep him alive. For the rest, I ended up eating almost everything heeeeheee."

Ori did not want to believe in what his eyes see, in what his ears hear... Rage manifests...

"You will apologize for what you have done! You will pay for what you have done!"

The monster lets out a maniacal laugh.

"Your forest is BLIIIIIND! Your kind is so WEEEAAK! You don't have the aid of your pitiful wisp. She was torn apart and forgotten. You are ALOOOONE.

"You are alone against HERDHAGARJ. Give me your body OR ILL FORCE MY WAY IN."

Ori was so infuriated. He deeply frowned and showed his teeth.

"Oooohhhh, so scary!" The monster taunts the spirit.

"You can use anybody to latch yourself? Even mine? I am a spirit of the light, doesn't it turn things difficult for you? Besides, aren't I too small to contain all your vile mass?"

The single eye of the monster spun to almost every direction.

"Oh, what a lovely question!" The creature said, interested. "I always find a way to make a home inside anyone. The light is bothersome indeed, but I can deal with it. As soon as your glow is vanquished I will manifest and destroy you from inside out. Doesn't that sound fun?

"I still have too few victims that I leeched in my lifetime. It's difficult to find healthy bodies to infect you know… So I need some help from outside. While I am not grown enough to swallow the Spirit Tree itself with its light I will keep infesting and feeding on the fools that live. And you are my next home. Heeeeeeeeeeheheeehe"

"You will apologize for what you did to Junku and all others you violated. I won't repeat myself!"

"Poor unloved child… You took the gumon from me and now you dare to make demands? Your time has come. Make your peace to your stupid tree and light. I tire wasting my precious time outside of my cocoon."

"Then come. Try us." Ori taunts back

"Us? You can't fool me!"

The creature advances laughing, already confident of his triumph. Ori, however, remains motionless, showing no signs of distress.

"Cursed creature of the decay." Sein spoke

A feminine voice. Herdhagarj stops his advance and searches from where it came. Twitching its eye he looks up and sees his demise. The wisp of Nibel charged the greatest raging flame.

"Your kind has no place in my forest or this world."

"The-the-the-the wisp! She is HERE!" The monster trembled in fear.

The ooze planned to rush to the spirit. If it could take him as a hostage it would win the day.

As soon as Herdhagarj moved its single eye back to the spirit it had a surprise.

Ori was already in melee range.

The ooze grew arrogant thinking the spirit screwed up. By coming so close by himself all it had to do is to take his body as a shield. The wisp probably won't kill one of their own.

"This is for Junku." The furious spirit said in a low tone.

The ooze is bashed upwards with great strength and gets unable to perform any actions while stunned airborne. Ori chases the ooze by jumping and double jumping after. In range once more, Ori bashes the ooze back down. The fall impact stuns Herdhagarj again, the last thing it sees is the shadow of the spirit among the light of the wisp.

Ori reached Sein high in the air. He bashes Sein with all his might to the monster and she goes down with the force of a comet. A huge blast of light sends shockwaves throughout the land. The monster was disintegrated including its ashes.

The light settles down after a few seconds. Ori goes down and lands normally.

Ori sees the crater made by the blast. Sein truly let a lot out. But, she was missing.

"Sein! Where are you?"

Digging through the snow that is carried by the winds he searched and searched. Sein should be in the very center of the crater, it would be wise to search there.

As soon he got in proximity he heard her voice calling to him. Very faintly and weak, he heard her.

"Hold on Sein, I am coming!"

Ori found the right place to dig, he sees her light blue rays coming through the snow and relief enters his mind.

While almost reaching her, Sein blasts the snow away, including Ori.

"That hurts Ori! Your hooves hurt a lot!" She flies around dizzily, searching for him.

"Ori? Where are you?" She asked.

The sound of a light cought reached her and she spotted him laying on the snow stunned.

"Ori, forgive me! Sorry to blast you away like that."

Ori grunts and slowly recovers.

"That hurts Sein! Your explosions hurt a lot!"

Sein laughs, shining kindly.

"Oh my, fair to say we are even now."

Ori stands back up and somehow doesn't feel like doing anything else anymore.

"Besides that, are you okay, Ori?"

He doesn't answer.

Junku's body had vanished within the light. Ori searched for him for a while and was glad that he did not find it. Sein notices the gumon castle.

"We are so close to the castle. I haven't even noticed. The inner ruins are in there."

The castle was originally higher than any of the structures. Sein wonders what was its purpose if the gumon never had a king to rule. Ori doesn't seem interested in the castle.

Trying to understand, Sein realizes Ori is not feeling okay right now.

Sein remembered yet again.

…

"Give him as many pauses he needs."

…

Ori remained in silence. Probably it was a good moment to call it a day.

"Come on Ori, let's find somewhere to rest a little."

The invitation ringed on his ears. He wanted it but didn't say anything.

He stood quietly staring at the snow below him. Something is going inside his mind. Sein tries to pull his attention.

"Hey, Ori." She shines in front of him. "Let's find a place to rest. You deserve to take a break for now."

Ori's ears tilt hearing that, and yet he doesn't take his eyes off the snow.

Sein feels stuck without options trying to reach him. She gets one last idea.

"Ori, I want to be carried..."

The random request made him raise his head back up.

"Please, hold me." She stops flying, bumping on him and falling into the snow

"You're supposed to catch me, Ori. I want you to carry me!"

Ori shows a small smile

"You're so evil! Pick me up, please!

"Pick me! Carry me!"

Sein wanted to be pampered on purpose. She was slowly getting his attention. She kept rolling and struggling in the snow, waiting for him to pick her up.

The scene made Ori remember his days with Naru. When he did the same spoiled behavior.

...

"There, there. I am here for you."

"Don't need to cry. I won't leave you alone like that."

"As your mother, I will carry you even when you become an adult. That is my duty, always my love. So don't cry."

...

"There, there. I am here for you." Ori said.

The young spirit reaches for Sein and picks her up. Holding her like a baby, or more like a sphere baby.

"Yay!" Sein celebrated blinking her light.

Ori began to walk to some of the nearby structures.

"Where do you want to go my baby wisp? That is much older than me. Can fly, shoot light beams, create huge explosions, conjure food and other stuff, warm me up, teleport me, pull me, and guide me through the forest. And finally, has a quite wrong method of teaching."

"I want to sleep! And it was your fault that happened."

"Oh yeah. I completely agree with that 'my fault' part"

"I want to sleep! Carry me to a comfy place!"

"As you wish my baby. I'll take you there. Do you want to sleep wrapped in my tail as well?"

"Ahn…" Sein lost her words to speak, flashing a lot

"I am joking." Ori laughs.

"I do!" Sein replied

"Oh, you actually said it. You like my tail!"

"I said that before already… it's embarrassing really."

"You did? I didn't catch it. Can you say that again?"

"You're a meanie. I won't say that again. You lost your chance."

"Aw, that's a bummer. I swore that you would say that for me, that you enjoy the embrace of my tail."

Sein remained in silence and her light flashes rapidly. Ori soon finds a good structure to stop by.

"Oh, this place looks comfy, safe, and has lots of space. A perfect shelter with braziers and everything. Let us rest here, Sein."

They enter the structure. Sein started flying by herself and lit the braziers. Then she went back to Ori's arms.

"Hm, for how long do you want me to hold you?" Ori takes off his cloak.

"Until I get satisfied."

"Hm…"

They fall silent for some time.

"There is not much for us to talk about, is there?" Ori asked

"Hm… Maybe not. I think we should rest. We have found the entrance to the ruins and the winds are close at hand. We will need all our energy for any outcomes, Ori. Rest well so we can be prepared."

"Do you think we will find more creatures of the decay down there?"

Sein's light shifted to slightly red in an instant and went back to her cool blue.

"I hope not. If we do I will handle them. Do not worry now, just go to sleep, or take a nap. Because I don't know if it's night time yet."

Ori had never seen Sein's light do that before. She never had that type of red color. He felt true anger coming from her for the first time. Quite scared, he decided not to question it.

"So…" Ori wanted to know.

"Hm?"

"You said you would-"

"No. Go to sleep"

"But you said-"

"I said no, Ori. Go to sleep"

"Okay then…" He shrugged.

They began to sleep and the time to restore the winds was close.

…

**Reem:** "Hey what the hell is this?!

**Reem:** "How is a gumon in the paradise?! Explain this shit!"

**Fil:** "Oh my… I different friend has joined us"

**Leru:** "Woah, he looks strong!"

**Tatsu:** "Who is he…?"

**Reem:** "This should be a place for spirits only!"

**Fil:** "Stop it, Reem. Let him be"

**Reem:** "But Fil! Only spirits should be able to be here!"

**Fil:** "It seems our savior is kind enough to let anyone join his paradise. I wonder what surprises he has in store for us."

**Leru:** "Relax a bit, Reem. You are just too hot-headed for your own good. You'll manage to die again in the paradise if you don't stop that attitude."

Reem feels taunted

**Reem:** "Listen here, Leru. I don't make the rules. And I do not agree to live with a gumon in my paradise!"

**Leru:** "This place is not yours or ours. We live here because he let us. You know what I am saying"

While Fil, Leru, and Reem talk to each other. Tatsu approached the lone gumon.

**Tatsu:** "Hm, hi…"

**Junku:** "Hello spirit"

**Tatsu:** "I'm Tatsu… And you?"

**Junku:** "My name is Junku. In my home, I am known as The Great"

**Tatsu:** "You have a title?"

**Junku:** "I do. I used to fight with other spirits against the decay as well."

**Tatsu:** "Wow… So you are very strong."

**Junku:** "I am not quite sure if I am, Tatsu."

**Tatsu:** "Oh yes… Let me say it to you. I welcome you to Ori's paradise."

**Junku:** "Ori?"

**Tatsu:** "Yes. He is the spirit that saved us and you as well."

Junku remembered his last moments. He became emotional.

**Junku:** "I see… Thank the light that little guy reached me. That's why I am here now…"

The gumon sat down resting on a tree. He remained in silence.

…

Ori slowly awakens from his sleep.

"A dream…?" He says slowly

He does a good stretch to prepare himself.

"Hello, Ori. Did you sleep well?" Sein asked.

"Hi, Sein. Yes, I had a good sleep. I think I was dreaming about Junku."

"Really? How was it?"

"I don't quite remember it. But Junku was resting on a very funny tree."

Sein pauses shortly.

"I see. So, are you ready?"

A loud belly grown was heard suddenly. Ori feels a huge hunger.

"Hm... Can't I eat anything before that? I am hungry." He said shyly.

"Oh…" Sein feels like teasing her spirit.

"But you said you won't eat my food and now we can't hunt for fruits in these ruins. Whatever shall we do?"

The spirit's belly growls loud. He appears really shy.

"I want your food Sein! Forgive me for what I said!" He kneels to plead.

"Oh, you want it now?"

"Yes! Please feed me."

"Hm… Let me think about it first."

Sein takes her time and while that, Ori stares at the wisp drooling. So much that Sein realizes his intentions.

"Don't you dare." She said to him.

Ori moved one step closer.

"Ori, don't stare at me like that."

Two steps closer.

"Listen here you furry ball... Do not come any closer."

Another two steps closer.

"I'd hate to feel your teeth sinking into me. Even if you are the cutest spirit in this world. So…"

"I am hungry…" Ori said like a zombie.

"If you dare to bite me I swear in the name of Sei and in my title of the wisp of Nibel that I-"

Ori jumps on Sein trying to bite her. He had already lost his sense of judgment. Sein dodges his teeth and takes a bit of distance.

"So, that's how it is gonna be yes? You have given in to your wild side."

Ori was now moving on all fours

Sein conjures a peach.

"Look here, boy. Want it?

Ori stared at the peach excited. His belly growling loud again.

"Catch!"

Sein throws the peach for him to chase after. He does that just right. He eats the peach really quickly.

"Good boy! Want another?"

"I am not a pet!" Ori recovered his senses

"Oh, you're already back… But I wanted to play more."

"I am still hungry. Give me fruit."

"You want it? Go catch it!"

Ori goes quickly trying to grab the fruit before it falls on the ground. He manages to pick it just in time.

"Oh, very nice! Good boy."

"Stowp thlowing fwood around and giwe itch sho me!" Ori said with his mouth full.

"Now that's some bad manners. Bad boy. Very bad boy."

"Fwogive me."

Sein flashed a bit.

"That sounded so cute. Have another fruit."

"Yway!"

Sein was trying to hold her laughter. He sounded so funny talking like that.

"I need more, Sein" Ori showed his hands empty to her.

"I will give you them. If you promise me that you will stop teasing me."

"You're the one that teases me." Ori replied.

"That is incorrect! You will stop talking about your tail like it is a comfort pillow for me to sleep."

"I never said that."

Ori found a weakness.

"Oh… A comfort pillow, very interesting."

Sein appears really shy.

"What? No! No no no. Not that. I said as you want me to think of it and not how I think of it."

"So you think about it." He said, amused.

"Stop it, Ori! This is embarrassing to speak about it out loud. I don't think of it every day you know."

"Oh! You think of my tail every day!"

"STOP IT, ORI! This is not fair!

"So you admit it, yes?"

"I won't!"

Ori shakes his tail more than he usually does.

"I will give the fruits. Don't tease me any longer please!"

Sein conjured the fruits and was about to give them to him.

"Thanks, Sein. You're a lifesaver. Or should I say, a tail saver." He says laughing a little.

Oh. that was the last straw for Sein to lose her mind. She got so mad that she pulled the fruits back and began to throw them at him with the intent to kill.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She yelled.

Ori laughs out loud as he dodges and catches as many fruits as he can.

"You are stupid! Your tail is stupid! Everything about you is stupid!"

She kept on throwing. Ori had a good amount of food on his arms already and in the end, Sein gave him all the fruits to kill his hunger.

"Hate you! Don't speak to me ever again!"

Ori eats his food laughing while Sein is flying in circles angry for some weird reason.

"Did I say something wrong I wonder…" He enjoyed his victory.

...

A few minutes later...

"Hey, Sein. Are you still mad?" He asked.

"Hmph!" She replied.

"I am just joking when I say those things about my tail."

"I don't care! Don't talk to me!"

Ori thinks about how to deal with this situation. Maybe he should apologize.

"Ok. I'll stop joking about you and my tail. I'm sorry."

"You better be!"

"So, you forgive me?"

"..."

Well, not much left to be done. Ori decided to not bother her for the time being. Maybe a bit of time of peace calms her down.

Ori preferred not to speak afraid to anger Sein again. He took his cloak and prepared to reach the nearby castle.

He began to move into the winds. He ran swiftly to the castle easily at sight. What could he expect there? Maybe Sein could say if she wasn't so mad.

Reaching the entrance of the castle Ori sees new writings. It says:

Only those allowed may go forth.

The protectors shall never fail her.

The winds will carry all evil away.

While we stand, so shall our pride.

"More mysterious phrases…" Ori said.

"How did they guard an element of nature? How can they even do it? I wonder…"

Sein was almost calming down. She left Ori talking alone for a bit longer.

"So, let's find the entrance to the inner ruins. It should be in this castle somewhere."

The patterns inside the ruined castle were similar to all the structures found in the city. Huge corridors made of stone with braziers all around. The writing also would not end.

Danger.

Turn back.

Run.

They are here.

Ori analyzed the strange writing. It was different from the others. It wasn't even molded on the wall. it was…

Written in blood.

Ori feels scared but thinks they were on the right path. Sein finally ends her silence.

"Beware, Ori. I feel disturbing presences surrounding us."

Ori was in relief that Sein spoke to him again.

"Hey Sein, forgive me please." He pleaded

Sein giggled, content seeing her spirit caring for her.

"I may not answer, but rest assured that I won't ever be angry with you. You are forgiven and don't worry about joking around. I enjoy hearing from you happy, so please don't stop being you."

They had little time to express themselves. A tremor shook the castle.

"What was that?!" Ori asked

Sein began charging her light.

"The decay is here, Ori. Keep your guard up."

"They are coming for us?" He asked, scared.

"No. But they are nearby…"

Sein felt a shadow presence, slithering nearby… Closing in.

"In fact… Too close"

Sein shoots light beams in the shadow direction. Revealing a creature of decay.

A vile lizard falls from the walls and rushes at Ori. The young spirit gets startled, unable to react.

Sein paralyzed the creature with her light and lifted it into the air. Blue flames began to burn the creature's scales violently as it struggled helplessly. Ori was scared by the sight of the creature burning to death. Sein was so serious and not playing around anymore.

"Do not fear, Ori. These creatures do not deserve any mercy. They are not known to light or dark. They have no place in our world."

The creature was completely burned, just a horribly carcass remained.

"There are more creatures of the decay here. Junku warned us, and they are still here…"

Sein was ever so furious. Her light shifted to a raging red momentarily.

"Let's go, Ori. We shall open the path ourselves."

Sein started to lead the way and Ori went after her.

Going through the vast corridors of the castle they approached their objective. The writing of blood showed even more terrifying messages.

"Remember Ori, we are in hostile territory. It means many enemies await us in this castle. And it will be even worse once we reach the inner ruins."

Within the gumon castle awaited the entrance to the inner ruins, previously known as the inner vaults. A whole series of tunnels that moved below Nibel to many places. The creatures of decay somehow were hiding in here for possibly a long time.

Sein felt the place swarming with decay. She was so enraged. She had to keep Ori secure. The thought of any creature daring to approach him infuriated her beyond recognition

"Sein, please calm down." He pled.

His words made her slow down. She was moving so fast he had difficulty following.

"Forgive me, Ori. This place is stressing me, I was losing myself to my anger."

"This place got scary fast." Ori said nervously. "I know I am slowing you down but don't be angry, Sein. It's not like you to be so angry."

His words once again echo within her. Even in the current place they were, she could relax. But not for long. An alarming and creepy voice reached them.

"What-t-t-t we have here?"

Sein charged her light as another lizard revealed itself on the ceiling. This time much bigger than the previous one. With gleaming pink eyes and purple spiked scales it also knew how to speak.

Ori gathered the courage to battle.

"You killed-d-d one of mine…"

"You will be the next" Sein replied

The lizard reanalyzes the visitors.

"Oh, it's the wisp-p-p herself… What an honor… Hope you received a good greeting from my minion."

Sein shoots a volley of light beams at the foe. The lizard dodges every shot and laughs.

"Was your 'peace' ever so uncertain, Sein? Are you scared of losing that little, delicious spirit? Fear not-t-t… I will take good care of him for you."

"Try me lizard. Dare you approach him and see what happens."

The lizard laughs disturbingly slowly...

"I will be eagerly waiting for you... In the chamber, where I can grant you, the appropriate welcome."

The giant lizard goes into the shadows.

Sein loses track of the creature. She tones down her light.

"That was their leader." She said.

"The decay has a leader?" Ori asked

"Yes, they are the most fearsome of the creatures of decay. Just like Herdhagarj, he is a powerful foe, he commands the smaller and weaker creatures. I think I will begin to hate lizards from now on."

"It said to be waiting in the chamber? What is the chamber?"

"A chamber is a large room, usually it has something special." Sein answered.

"Do you think…"

"Yes… It will be waiting for us in the chamber of winds."

They met their final obstacle to their objective.

"Let's go, Ori. Let's kill some reptiles."

They moved through the castle with haste. They find a passage leading downstairs.

"We are here. Just at the end of this staircase is the door to the inner ruins."

Ori is determined to go further and Sein prepares herself to fight anything inside the tunnels. They proceed downstairs and the entrance of the tunnels welcomes them with its doors closed.

Ori picks the Gumon Seal and inserts it on a small space that it would fit. With the seal placed, the massive stone door shone in orange energy, revealing a new rune which reads just as "wind"

The path was open and Ori and Sein began moving in, but Ori felt a familiar presence watching him.

He turns around and is unable to spot the uncomfortable feeling.

"What's wrong, Ori?" Sein asked.

"I felt someone watching me…"

"In a place like this, we are being watched all the time." Sein replied

"It felt different."

"How so?"

"I don't know how to explain…"

"Don't mind it, Ori. It will only bother you the more you think about it." She recommended. "At least there are no winds in the tunnels. I can take your cloak off."

"Oh, ok… Can I have it back later?"

"Of course. I'll be taking it off for now so you don't stumble on it while moving in combat."

The cloak vanishes.

"Be ready to bash anything harmful you see in these tunnels. This won't be easy."

"Yes. I am prepared."

The battle to the chamber of wind soon begins. Against the creatures of decay, Ori and Sein still have to press on. The final challenge awaited them atop of the Forlorn Ruins.

...


	11. Wind Rider pt2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, I have yet a new big chapter that concludes the Forlorn Ruins arc. Hope you like it.

After the events in the ruined city of Feihar, Ori and Sein finally entered the inner ruins and could make their way to the chamber of winds, where the element rests. While navigating through the tunnels, Ori and Sein felt the temperature slowly rising.

"It's getting hot in here?" Ori asks.

"It is. I may know what is causing it." Sein replies.

"But It was so cold outside of these tunnels"

The long tunnels were silent and creepy. They could hear slithering whispers from time to time. Sein could not pinpoint the decay presences nearby, but she knew they are close. Her attention must not falter, Ori won't be able to defend himself from a sneak attack.

Focusing to not drown in anger, Sein filled her mind with moments of happiness together with Ori. She is stressed, but won't let it overwhelm her again for his sake.

Sein pushed the darkness away, making it difficult for any creature to sneak closer.

"Calm down Sein. Don't spend so much energy just to illuminate the tunnel."

"I'm fine Ori. This is not so energy consuming in the end. I am just making sure that nothing is approaching."

While moving further, the heat within the tunnel increases. Ori starts to sweat.

"It's getting too hot in here… What is causing it?"

"It's the machinery of the gumon Ori. They are still working and are overheating up ahead. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm okay. Just this stupid heat is really bothering me."

"I did not expect this place to be overheating like this" Sein says

They press on a for a little longer

"You can't cool your light for me, Sein?"

"I'm afraid I cannot Ori. We can return and find another way to proceed if you wish."

"No need. I can deal with this."

"Are you sure? Don't force yourself"

"I'm fine… I just… need to take a deep breath."

They kept going, the heat just increases. Heatwaves travel within the tunnels and Ori was sweating a lot. The steam made the air too hot to breathe. Ori has difficulty to gather oxygen.

Sein feels the decay presences getting agitated. With Ori struggling to breathe she has to take him out of the tunnels.

"Hold on Ori. We are returning to the castle."

She lifts him with her light and pulls him out of the tunnels at high speed.

Upon returning to the entrance of the tunnels, Ori could breathe again. Sein warmed her light because of the cold wind in the castle.

"Hmm, maybe there is something in the castle that can help us to deal with that heat." Sein says

Ori had recovered and was standing back up.

"Forgive me for slowing you down Sein."

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."

"How can we reach the element now?"

Sein wonders.

"We will need to deal with that heat first. Then we think about the element. So I was thinking of searching in the castle to see if we can find anything that may help us."

"We won't find anything in a place like this Sein"

Sein wonders again and remembers something really interesting.

"Ori, I just have the perfect solution."

"What is it?" He asks with curiosity.

"The gumon used the light of the Spirit Tree so build all their stuff right?"

"Hm, yes."

"It means they used your father's light to build and endure those harsh environments. Its current state was not supposed to be like that, yes. But, I think if we find a vessel that has the light of the Spirit Tree, you will be able to harness his protection to stand the climate in the tunnels."

"You make it sound so easy, Sein. What if we don't find it because it is long gone. The creatures may have destroyed it."

"Don't be pessimistic now, Ori. I need your help to detect the light of the Spirit Tree. Let's search for it."

"Alright then. I just want my cloak back."

"Sure thing."

Wearing the cloak once more, they search within the halls of the gumon castle for the vessel. Ori should be able to detect it when getting in proximity. They go up and down, killing the decay reptiles that dare to pounce on them. Scouring every little room to every drawer available they searched. The normal writing was back on one of the suits of the castle. It reads:

Blessed tools this way →

Exit this way ←

Inner Vaults this way ↓

Sein this way ↑

"What?" Sein asked

Ori was laughing a lot at the funny pointing

"What does that even mean? The directions don't even make sense." Sein tried to understand

"I don't know but I just can't stop laughing!"

"Stop laughing Ori. I am trying to understand why my name is written and pointing up. Are the gumon hinting that I am always atop the Spirit Tree?"

"I wonder that too. I would guess that you're so high up that you live in the clouds"

He keeps laughing. Sein feels like laughing too.

"Your laugh is contagious Ori. Stop it or I'll start-"

Sein started laughing.

Each corridor led to one way and the Sein one leads to an altar located within the castle. A few gumon used that place to pray. However, the way that leads to the altar was destroyed and inaccessible.

"Okay! Let's stop here. This is no place to have fun!" Sein said

"The wisp of the clouds!" He said laughing a lot.

"Ori, please. Let's focus here! Remember the place we are."

"Ah sorry. I'll stop. It was so funny to imagine you shining like the Sun in the skies."

"Very funny. We must focus here now, we must not let our guards down. The decay presences still stress me out all the time."

"But a bit of laughter helped you right?" He asked her.

She shines a little bit.

"I admit. It felt good, but let's not waste time."

"Okay. let's go."

Sein observes the pointing instructions once more.

"This path, the 'Blessed tools' one, is basically what we are searching."

"It is?" Ori asked

"Let's check it out. I hope that's it."

They followed the instructions and managed to open the way even if it was destroyed. A few lizards dared to approach but did not attack. Sein scared them away. It was not the time for a confront yet.

They enter a new room, at first sight, it is ruined like all others, with debris and boulders all over the floor.

"Is this it?" Sein asks.

Ori feels strange, he senses a familiar energy.

"I feel something, Sein."

"Oh! Then we must have found it. Go after it!" Sein said content.

Ori followed his instincts and searched for the familiar feeling. He dug through the debris and dirt. Slowly reaching the blessed tool. They had found a construction tool, blessed with the light of the Spirit Tree.

"We found it!" Sein says.

"Is that it? A small hammer?" Ori wasn't impressed.

"It doesn't matter what form it has. The hammer is a vessel of the light of your father. You won't use the hammer, just absorb the light."

"How do I absorb the light?"

"Just hold the hammer for a moment and you'll naturally take the light."

Ori took the hammer and his hands and lifted it. The simple hammer glows in white energy, and this glow started to travel to the spirit, running through his arms, and upon reaching his chest, it was gone.

"What happened?" He asks

"You absorbed the light. Do you feel anything?"

"Nothing really."

"That's fine I guess. Now you need to know how to use it."

"And how do I do that?"

"Think in a manner to protect yourself from the heat. Create an insulator shell around your entire body."

Ori was thinking about how he would do that. He sat down and closed his eyes to concentrate.

"Think in a shell that protects my entire body…" He recited.

He takes a deep breath.

"Think… In something… chilly"

Ori somehow managed the create a protective barrier on his fur. He was feeling a chilly sensation on his entire body, but it didn't bother him.

"So chilly!" He says out loud

"What's wrong?" Sein asked.

"Come closer, Sein."

"Okay…?"

As soon she goes closer Ori grabs her with his chilling touch.

"EEK!" She quickly shivers and flies out of his range as Ori laughs out loud

"That was not pleasant. How are you so chill like that? And stop laughing!"

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist. " He controlled his laughter. "So is this a shell? I just feel chilly right now. Am I doing this right?"

"Hm, I suppose this will do. I believe you are ready now."

"Alright, let's go! But first…"

Ori picked the hammer.

"I'll take this with me. Maybe it can be useful."

"Why would a simple hammer be useful?" Sein asks.

"You'll never know. My mother always said that we must cherish even the simplest objects. You never know when they can save the day"

"Fair enough. Naru was wise after all." Sein said.

"And your mother…" She said to herself

Ori and Sein moved back to the tunnels. With new protection, Ori should be able to withstand the heat of the machinery and proceed further with Sein.

Before entering the tunnels Ori takes off the cloak and concentrates, increasing the intensity of the protection he created.

"Okay, I am ready!"

"Once again, do not let your guard down. We will find more enemies in this place."

And so they entered the tunnels. The heat was quickly increasing as they moved further.

"How are you doing, Ori?"

"I am feeling pretty fine. Are we close to the machinery yet?"

"We are even deeper into the tunnels than our previous attempt."

"Really? Then it is protecting me! What a relief."

"Indeed. That is one less problem to deal with."

Moving through the place they could see an exit, it glowed in orange and the heat came through there.

"We are close now. Just checking if you are feeling alright"

"Fine by me" Ori replied.

He was acting naturally and wasn't sweating. His protection could even cool the air to ambient temperatures, allowing him to breathe.

Sein feels the presence of decay getting agitated again. She doubles her focus while moving to the first exit.

They finally reach the orange glowing exit. They are welcomed in a big room filled with machinery scribed with orange runes. Gears were turning, pipes flowing with something, steam is released uncontrollably. One thing they notice the floor is covered in these orange runes.

"This is not a pleasant sight in thousands of ways." Sein says.

"I think so too." He replies

"But why is all that machinery down here? What is its purpose?" Ori asks

"I believe this machinery was built as some kind of defense mechanism. After the catastrophe, it never had maintenance. Somehow they are still working but not in an intended way. The overheat is another alarming worry because this entire place could blow up. At any moment."

"Now I'm legit scared. Thanks, Sein."

"Sorry, but we are against the clock, Ori. We must be quick."

"And what can we do? Shall we restore the winds and then let it explode the element right after?"

He had a point.

"Fair enough. But we just cannot repair the machines. Do you have any idea how to do it? Because I don't"

Ori picks up the small hammer.

"My dear, hitting stuff with this hammer won't fix anything. Actually will make things worse."

"I know that, Sein. I am just thinking about how to put this hammer to use."

He puts the hammer back.

"Mind telling me where do you put your stuff?" Sein wanted to know

"It's a secret."

"I will discover what kind of pocket you have to put these things. One day. I'll be watching…"

"So… This orange floor doesn't look very friendly." Ori observes.

"Do you think it's safe to step on it?"

"I don't know. But I can't make you fly so proceed with caution."

Ori slowly placed one hoof on the orange floor. At first, it was smoldering hot, but as he steps down, the orange runes shifted to white. The floor below Ori cooled down thanks to his protection.

"Oh look at that! The floor is cooling down when I get in proximity."

"Thank the Spirit Tree." Sein says in relief.

"So where are we going? There is nowhere to go."

Sein decides to scout the room, she flies around and finds a few passages.

"I have found three passages but they are located very high up."

"Do I need to climb?"

"Maybe. I think you could use the machines to get up there?" Sein asked.

"Ahn… I am not a fan of this idea…" Ori said.

Sein gets scared.

"Don't even mention it. Okay, leave the machines, let's go in the normal way. Let us climb the walls."

"Alright."

Ori moves with caution and lets the floor cool down before stepping down. He reaches the side of the room and one passage could be seen up there. There were supposed to be stairs leading to the passages but they were destroyed.

The machinery in the center of the room made many noises and kept releasing heat waves. The heat is very uncomfortable even with the protection.

"Hey Sein, how can the decay stay in this place?"

"I don't know, Ori. I wished all of them to burn in this heat but unfortunately, they won't. But they will in my flames."

"That's very evil of you."

"I am not evil. I just hate the decay and you should too."

Ori began climbing. He moved slowly and awaits for the surfaces to cool down before proceeding.

"Hey, you are not sliding down. You have improved the climbing technique of Fil."

"I did? It's very simple to hold myself in place now. I haven't even noticed."

Ori and Sein reach the passage leading to a new tunnel.

"Okay, where do we go? This place is just tunnels and a few rooms burning with hot machines?" Ori asks.

"Hm, I am trying to guide the way but it is still difficult. But in essence, yes, that's all the inner ruins is..."

"Which way is the chamber of winds?"

"That's a pretty good question" Sein replies.

"You don't know?!" Ori asks perplexed.

"Hey, I may be immortal but my knowledge has its limits too."

"You're supposed to know everything!"

"That's where you're wrong dear."

Noises from the creatures could be heard clearly.

"Here they come." Sein says.

Four lizards appear out of nowhere, announcing their approach. Sein charges her light and gets serious.

She shoots exactly four beams for each foe. Those beams quickly pierce the creature's bodies and set them aflame. Sein can manipulate her beams and she makes them pierce the creatures one more time. The flames will do the rest.

"Amazing…" Ori said.

"Ori, less talk, more movement." Sein said seriously.

"Okay okay, let's go. But where?"

"I am counting on you to find the way." Sein replied.

"Really now!?" Ori said, frustrated

"I believe in you."

There was no time to lose. Sein is now focused and doesn't want to talk. Ori began moving and finding new rooms filled with crazy machinery. In one room, they found a different type of machine, this one had a deadly laser that moved to many directions randomly thanks to the overheat.

"Hey, that laser screams danger to me. How can we go through?" Ori asks

"The laser is malfunctioning… Ori, you will need to take cover behind something"

"Like what?"

"Use that hammer, focus the light to create something to protect yourself from the laser."

Ori notices something in the runes on the floor

"No need for that Sein. I think I have found the cover."

One of the orange runes could be read as "Barricade", this means it could create a cover, many runes like that were in the place, on the ground floor, and the walls surfaces. Sein was so focused on keeping guard that she wasn't even looking at him.

"What did you find?" She asks

Ori had vanished.

"ORI!" She shouts.

Ori began moving into the room swiftly, his protection was cooling the surfaces faster than before. He risks everything to reach the first barricade rune and stomps on it. That part of the floor raises and does become a cover that the laser cant go through.

"Pretty cool right?" Ori says.

"You are crazy! Don't scare me like that" Sein replies

"Let's go, Sein. Keep an eye on any lizards."

"Please be careful."

Ori ran to the next rune as soon the laser moved away. Lizards start descending through the walls and Sein prepares herself to repel them.

Ori manages to reach the second rune and the barricade protects them from their foes and laser. The lizards fail to breach the barricade and the laser finishes them off. Ori sees a new passage and plans to rush to it.

More lizards advance without the element of surprise. As Ori awaits to make his next move, Sein kills the lizards from afar. After clearing the way Ori has an idea to put the small hammer into use.

"Hey Ori, what are you gonna do?" Sein asks

"Might be crazy, but I think I can use the light to freeze the laser. Probably momentarily."

Ori imbues the small hammer with his light and throws it a laser machine. He hits it and the laser is turned off.

"See?" Ori says

More and more lizard surges from every corner.

"I think there will be no end to them. We got to move!"

"Right away, I just want the hammer back."

Sein repels all lizards with her light beams and some back away. a few manage to dodge her flames and approaches Ori trying to reach the hammer.

Ori bashes the lizards and moves swiftly to the hammer. He manages to pick it and bashes his way out of the room. The laser is heating up again and soon will annihilate everything in the room. Sein also shoots one beam into the laser's core to heat it faster as Ori reaches the exit and moves into the tunnel. The laser activates and many lizards are caught into it.

"Just keep running, I'll fend them off!" Sein says to him.

They were chased by many more lizards. New tunnels were infested with them, Ori had one option to go until that one passage was also infested with them.

"What do we do?" Ori asked

"Allow me." Sein replies.

She charges her light into a spear of blue flames and throws it into the tunnel. All lizards within burn to ashes. The way was open and Ori moves forward while being chased.

"How long till we reach it?" He asks

"Follow the breeze!" Sein replies

"Breeze?"

Ori hasn't noticed until now. There was a small breeze moving through the tunnel. It should guide him to the chamber.

"Why you haven't told me about it before?!"

"That's another pretty good question" Sein laughs a little

"Sein!" He says annoyed

"Forgive me, I was busy here."

Ori now has something to guide him. Following the slight breeze, he goes left and right in the maze of tunnels. At each new room, a new type of malfunctioning appears, be them laser beams or blades throwing traps. The chase keeps on and more lizards pour from everywhere.

No bash can aid him against that many and Sein won't be able to hold them off forever. Ori feels he needs to do something before things turn too difficult. The breeze guides them to a dead end.

"Oh no." Ori says.

"A dead end? It can't be" Sein says.

"What do we do? The breeze guided me here."

"Ori, this is a fake wall. I will hold the lizards, try to open the way."

"But Sein I cant take down this wall, only if it was made of mud."

"This is a mud wall, Ori. Just give it a push."

"Oh… Alright then"

He pushes the wall with shoulder slams it a few times and it slowly budges.

"A bit faster dear? Things are getting crazy over here."

"I'm trying as hard as I can!"

Sein had to hold them off for a little longer. She charges her light to create a giant laser beam. She blasts the tunnel and sets everything aflame, she focuses the beam for a little longer to buy more time. It ended being more energy consuming than she would like.

"Almost there!" Ori says.

Ori struggled too much to take the wall down, he feels angry and focuses a portion of his light on this fist. He builds up strength and punches the mud wall. The way was open.

"Not bad." Sein says.

They enter a new room. Sein blasts the tunnel closing the passage behind them. They escape the assault of the lizards and once they turn around to have a look at where they are…

"Woah… Where are we?" Ori asks

The scenery changed a lot. They find themselves in an ice cavern. The orange runes could still be seen and the cavern is still part of the inner ruins. The heat is a lot lower now and the cold doesn't bother. The temperature was really fine even in such a place they find themselves.

"This must be the way to the chamber. We are getting close. This cavern must have become like this because of the winds. It's not cold like outside because of the machines we had seen." Sein comments

"And it's not as hot as we were in the tunnels." Ori said.

"Either way, don't take off your protection. These orange runes might burn if we are not careful. Also, how did you punch that wall like that?"

"Ahn… I got a bit angry I guess?"

Sein wonders if it was his natural strength or if it was borrowed. In any case, she can't be sure at this moment.

"Hey, Sein! I still feel the breeze. It's going this way. Let's go!"

He goes ahead while Sein was lost in thoughts

"Wait, Ori. Don't rush in like that, remember we are in hostile territory!"

Ori and Sein explore the place and the scenery. The decay presences somehow got distant and Sein relaxed a little. They climb new passages through the cavern and discover new types of machinery that are also overheating. Ori can cool the machines down and they proceed into the cavernous depths.

Many glowing minerals illuminated the caverns in a bright blue. The ice on every ceiling and surfaces reflected the light, making the place a lot less dark than the actual tunnels. The atmosphere became sadder as new gumon corpses were found almost everywhere.

"I wonder if Gumo knows of their fate." Sein said. "If he can forgive us, that we live and they are gone."

Ori wanted to know how he was doing. He pays respects to the fallen gumon, trying to fight off the sorrowful fate of his race.

"If he knows, we will find a new home for him." He replies

Sein observes her spirit yet again showing his kind will to help a friend. Her light shines a little bit.

"We'll find Gumo later, my dear. For now, let's focus on our objective."

Ori agrees and they press on.

…

"Gumo?"

Gumo found his way into the tunnels and reached the ice cavern. The path was painted in a familiar white light and no enemies were in sight. All machines were cooled down and the overwhelming heat was gone. He followed Ori's steps and mourned for his race.

"Gumo…" The last gumon placed one hand on one of his kind.

…

"Hey, Sein!" Ori calls her

"Hm?"

"What is gravity?" He asks

"Why do you ask?

"It's because of these runes. It's written gravity on them."

They had found new obstacles, a path of frozen spikes halted their advance, the spike bed was so big it could not be jumped over. However, Ori finds a gravity rune laying on the ground. Sein answers his question:

"In short, gravity is a force that tries to pull two objects toward each other. Anything which has mass also has a gravitational pull. The more massive an object is, the stronger its gravitational pull is."

"I don't get it?" He says

"In other words, the gravity of our world is what keeps you on the ground and what causes objects to fall. For example, when you jump, you naturally fall afterward. That is gravity pulling you back to the ground."

"Something tells me you are not bound by it, Sein"

"Hm, yeah but I am a wisp and I can fly so I can ignore it. I have other problems that may be worse than gravity."

Ori was kinda jealous, he wanted to fly too. Looking at the rune he wonders…

"Then what is this rune?"

"Well, I don't know. Give it a try."

Ori presses the rune with his hand and it glows in white. The room pulses in the white glow and the rune dims out.

"Okay, what happened?" Ori asks

"I wonder if you deactivate the gravity in this area?" Sein replies. "Try to jump, Ori."

Ori prepares and does as Sein asked. He reaches his maximum height but doesn't fall.

"No way!" Sein was impressed.

"I'm flying? IM FLYING SEIN!" He shouts overjoyed

Ori bumps his head in the ceiling and doesn't come down.

"You can move in the ceiling? So you are still pulled, just to a new direction."

"Aw, so I can't fly." He says slightly disappointed

Ori stands up upside down on the ceiling. Everything looks weird and almost funny from his new point of view. He was moving naturally and gravity was now pulling him upwards instead of downwards.

"Hey Sein, I feel my all blood going to my head" He giggles.

"Don't get dizzy now. Thanks to that rune you can avoid this bed of ice spikes. Let's move."

"Okay!"

He takes some time to get used to the weird feeling. In essence, he should move naturally if he wasn't so focused thinking he is upside down and that he would fall at any moment.

"What happens if I jump and glide?"

"You will naturally go to where gravity pulls you" Sein replies

Even testing he was stuck in the ceiling. When he came across a passage leading up he hesitated.

"How am I climbing this?"

"No need to climb Ori. If you step forward you will fall upwards remember?"

He moves one hoof forward.

"So if I step forward one more time I will fall up?" He asks to be sure.

"Yes. Although you should not test it, because it will definitely happen."

Ori feels daring and steps forward again and falls up. He is surprised as he somehow didn't believe in, Sein. He loses balance and spins in the air while falling. He feels dizzy and can't understand his position or how close he was to collide into the next surface. Sein holds him with her light and places him safely on a firm surface. He tries to calm his breathing after the panic.

"Ori, I warned you. You are not used to the new gravity, so think a little before proceeding."

He still feels terrified. He struggles to speak.

"Well, you could have hurt yourself badly if you fell headfirst. You can thank me once you calm down."

"Tha-thank you, Sein…" He says panting.

"Now, don't go doing that again. Let's go, my dear, before the decay reaches us again"

Ori goes slowly to get used to moving on the cavern's ceiling. They meet more beds of spikes and does not find a new gravity rune. Ori quickly grows tired to walk upside down and wishes to return to the ground below.

Sein teases him for her flying abilities. They follow the breeze as it guided them to their objective. Silence soon became huge within the cavern and Ori was getting nervous.

"Sein." He calls her

"We are almost there I think. Hold on for a little longer." She says.

"It's not that. How are we going to fight that big lizard?"

Sein becomes silent for a moment and thinks in an answer.

"I have a plan, Ori. We can win against that thing easily if you lend me your help."

"What can I do?" He asks.

"Listen well… You have absorbed the light of the Spirit Tree. The same light that gives me my powers. If you give just a tiny amount of that light to me, I will be able to eliminate any foe, including that lizard."

Sein missed her Spirit Tree, previously known by another name. She misses his light and guidance. Ori notices Sein showing a melancholic sorrow through her words.

"I'll give it all to you Sein! If that makes you feel better I'm more than happy to help you!" He kindly replies

Sein flashes her light considerably.

"Thank you, my dear. I will let you know when. Let's keep moving."

Ori nodded and they went on.

…

Gumo finds the gravity rune and doesn't seem to make it work.

"Gumo gumo?"

He pokes it and stomps on it. Nothing seems to happen. When he decided to approach the bed of spikes he notices the footsteps of Ori above.

"Gumo Gumo, GUmo." He realized that Ori moved by the ceiling to avoid the spikes.

Gumo thinks in a way to imitate him and does a big leap and his gravitational pull changes. He now could move on the ceiling and keep following his footsteps.

"Aha! GumO!" He says enjoying the new point of view.

…

After walking the silent caverns for a little more, Ori and Sein found a new gravity rune and a mysterious shrine.

"GRAVITY!" He shouts slamming himself on it.

"Oh my, a little too desperate there, dear?" Sein said playfully.

Ori manages to return to the ground and his balance was restored

"Thank you! I love the ground!"

Sein laughs a little.

"Look, Ori. This should be important" She points out the shrine.

They come closer and notice a small recipient empty and with new writings.

"It's empty. What can we do with this?" He asks.

"There is something written, maybe it can tell us what to do?" Sein asked.

Ori begins to read:

"Place the light as a tribute. Her protection is what guides us. Give something of valor to prove your worth."

"I have to give something of mine?" Ori asked.

"Not necessarily." Sein said. "You have to give a vessel of the light. Something the gumon always had."

"So…" Ori picks the small hammer.

"Yeah, I hope that will do."

Ori places the hammer on the shrine. Nothing happens.

"Did it work?" He asks

Sein sighs.

"It didn't, Ori. Looks like it needs the light of the Spirit Tree. You have to transfer the light back to the hamme. Well at least you don't the protection anymore."

"But, what about you? You need the light too right?" He asks her

"I guess we can share, I just need a tiny amount. I hope that won't affect the tribute."

"Okay then. Come to me, Sein."

"Oh, you know how to do it, dear?"

"I have an idea." He replies.

Sein flies to his hands and awaits. Ori concentrates and the light of the Spirit Tree shines within his chest, it begins to move slowly towards his arms going to Sein.

When it reaches her, Sein takes it and the white glow mixes in her blue light. She takes flight and expresses so much joy.

"Thank you, Ori!" She rapidly circles him many times.

"I missed this caring energy, so warm and gentle. Love it so much!" She went on with happiness.

Seeing Sein so happy naturally made Ori happy as well. He was in relief he could help her, and as she said she took a tiny amount of the light. He wonders what that light can do, for her to be so happy with it.

Sein calmed down after expressing that child's wonder joy.

"Now Ori, I can protect us from that foe. And one more thing, I have a little surprise to show you what I can do with the light of the Spirit Tree. It's one of my powers and I can only do it thanks to you."

"What can you do? Show me!"

"Patience, this power is very special and I will use it to defeat our enemy. If I were to ask you, can you imagine me in another form?"

"Another form?" He repeats

Sein chuckles and she hears him. Something special was about to happen.

"Let's not waste time. Let's reach the element once and for all. Give the tribute to the altar and let's move forward."

Ori followed her instructions with a nod. He imbued the hammer, returning the light and placed it on the altar. It did something, another orange rune was lit and its glow moved through the ground, walls, and to every corner. Everything seems energized. A new path opens before them, a bridge leading through a large hole is formed. The hole was so deep it was not possible to see the bottom.

"Look what they have built. The miracle of the light knows no bounds, now that their structures are energized, the chaos on the tunnels should get a bit better."

Ori observes the bridge, it was so long and it leads to a massive stone door. Once again the same orange rune written as 'wind' could be seen painted the door.

"Is that the chamber, Sein?" Ori points to the door and the other end of the bridge.

"Very possible."

Sein notices his nervousness

"Are you scared, Ori?"

He doesn't answer.

"With your gift, I can do so much more. I will end the battle quickly so fear not my dear."

"Sein…" He calls her. "Whatever happens, please don't be angry."

She shines a little bit.

"I give you my promise, I won't fall in anger. The same works for you, okay?"

"Okay." Ori gathered courage.

Ori and Sein moved forward and began to cross the bridge. The silence almost reigned as a few noises of the decay creatures echoed by them. Each step was dreadful, Ori knew that danger is just up ahead. He must not fear, he had Sein and many abilities gifted to him. "There is nothing to fear" he recited in his mind.

Gumo reached the altar and sees the glowing hammer. He saw the spirit almost crossing the bridge. He hesitated to call him. The tension was so high for some reason. "What is happening?" He asked. He went after him slowly and quietly.

"Breathe easy, Ori. As long as we are together, nothing will hurt you." Sein said

"I know… It's just, a battle is about to begin."

Sein could not let go of the thought of Ori so nervous, she wanted to prove that he needed not to worry. She started to shine with great intensity. Ori stopped and stared at her perplexed.

She recited:

"My weapon is peace and my armor serenity."

"Swore in the name of Sei. I am her kindness."

"Through my flame, purification arises in any land."

"In my name, rests certainty. In my actions, conviction."

"I am Sein, the wisp of Nibel."

Ori finally could see better in within her bright light. She had changed. Ori remembered her words…

"...can you imagine me in another form?"

As the light settled down her silhouette could be seen. Ori was silent and she approached. She was no longer a small sphere.

"So, what do you think?" She reveals herself.

Ori was speechless. She changed her form. She transformed into a spirit. With light blue pupils, her white fur had many gentle and artistic blue stripes and dots on her arms, shoulder, sides, and legs. Her ears were long and had blue fur on the tip as well on her tail. Her face screams glamour and elegance as five bluish flaming orbs circled her above her head.

"Se-s… Sein?" He says stammering.

"It's me, my dear. Although I recommend basking your eyes while you still can, I don't have much time to maintain this form. It's all thanks to you for sharing the light of the Spirit Tree. Whatever awaits us up ahead, won't stand a chance."

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him ahead.

"Let's go, Ori. Time is of the essence."

He still stared at her completely stunned. "What is happening?" he says in his mind. Trying to understand she now had arms and legs, she could walk. Can she still fly? His mind can't stop the flow of thoughts.

"Wait, is it really you, Sein?"

"Do you still have doubts? Okay ask me something so I can prove it to you."

Ori gathered his thoughts. Shaking his tail more than usual.

"Stop that tail dear, please."

He did not stop.

"Can you fly?" He asked.

"Yes, I can."

"Can you… ahn…" He was thinking...

"Do not come with one of your tail jokes."

"Okay, it's really you… I admit that I am shocked, Sein."

"Thank you for believing in me. Now we must settle our problem. As I said, I can't maintain this form for much time."

"Alright. Let's get it done." Ori replies.

They move forward and the massive doors of the chamber open. They are welcomed by an immense room and right in the center of it a magical stairway made of floating stones, leading up to the biggest machine they have seen so far, which was also floating.

That machine was frozen and it had the shape of a rhombus. Four huge steel rings were placed behind the machine, and right in the center, where the stairway led, a spiral mechanism of some sort and within it, a blue jewel.

"Wow…" Ori beholds the element of winds.

"There it is… The second element." Sein says.

Sein was searching for him…

"Ahn… The lizard is here?" Ori asked.

"Camouflage" Sein replied.

"What is camouflage?"

"I'll tell you later."

Sein steps forward.

"Show yourself, vile creature! You can't hide from me."

Sein receives silence. She makes one gesture with her hands and one of her flaming orbs flies at high speed to the very end of the room and explodes once it finds her target. A smoke cloud is formed.

"Impressive… Sein. You look-k-k different."

Once the smoke cloud dissipates. The lizard reveals himself on the ceiling of the room.

"I am not here to chat, monster."

"Why so serious-s-s?"

Thousands and thousands of other lizards pour from every side. Ori and Sein find themselves surrounded.

"No matter which form you take… You will never get out of this place"

"As for your spirit… I will be taking him."

Sein conjures a new flaming orb, replacing the one missing.

"Try me lizard. Dare to approach him and see what happens."

The lizard laughs very slowly.

"I will take your lives. Kill them!"

With the order, all smaller creatures charged in. Sein sighs and her five orbs rotate around her and Ori. She creates a wall of blue flames between each orb and all creatures retreat scared. Sein expands the walls into all directions within an instant. A few creatures are caught and burn in the flames, spreading it to each other. Soon only the leader remained.

"Easy enough, gecko." Sein taunted the monster.

The vile creature snarls enraged. It emits a smoke curtain and uses its camouflage to sneak around. As Sein and Ori can't use their vision, she places one orb to protect Ori as she searches for their foe.

"Stay here Ori. It can't hurt you while the orb is with you."

Ori felt like a dead weight on Sein. He wanted to help.

Sein goes deeper into the curtain. Ori couldn't see a thing anymore, he hears flames erupting within the smoke and sees her silhouette momentarily. She was fighting alone, Ori couldn't stand this.

Sein dodged each dive of the lizard as it swiftly lurked in the curtain. Her flames did little damage against its scales. She increases the intensity of each flame orb, managing to burn her foe. The vile reptile stops attacking and hides, as Sein could not find him she began flying and launching orbs down like bombs. The bombardment was great and it would not be hit easily. It slithers away quickly and goes closer to, Ori. Sein stops the drops and descends on the monster, doing a dropkick on him and cracking its scales and the ground below.

"I tire of this!" Sein made one red flaming orb

After the confirmed blow on the lizard, Sein tossed the red orb in the air. While it fell, she took Ori and flew away from the incoming explosion.

"Sein, are you okay?" Ori asks worriedly.

"Not now dear."

The red orb lands and a huge blast is made. The rings of the machine shake as the shockwave trembles the chamber.

Sein still senses the decay presence.

Their foe surprises Sein high in the air and manages to bite her, pulling her to the ground. Ori falls down and quickly recovers searching for her.

Sein had no orbs available and she struggles to hold off the pressing maw of the creature.

Ori sees Sein in danger, he decides to move in. He tries to pick the flame orb at his side, but it burns him. In a panic, he bashes the orb to Sein.

As Sein sees Ori bashing the orb and she gets an idea. His aim would be straight to her, if she was to dodge the orb, it would go straight into the lizard's mouth.

Sein demonstrates her confidence with a smile and a chuckle, even when holding off the creature's fangs.

As the orb flies to Sein, she times the exact moment when it would reach her. At that moment Sein blinks away and the lizard swallows the orb.

"Checkmate." Sein said victoriously

She made a new hand gesture and the orb burned the lizard from inside out. The lizard laughs in distress.

"Well… Played-d…" It struggles in pain. "We will still take your spirit… Once he is gone... so will be your forest-t-t"

"You cannot protect him… In the end-d… You, are no better… than us…"

The monster's words managed to hit Sein. She gets pissed and does a new hand gesture to end its torment.

*Boom*

The creature explodes and her flames reduce all remains to ashes extremely quickly. Sein kneels rather tired.

"Sein! Are you okay?" The young spirit asks worriedly.

"I am fine, thank you for the aid." She stands up.

Her form began to dissipate.

"Yeah, that's all I can do with that tiny amount…" She returns to her wisp form.

"You must be tired, Sein, do you wanna rest?" Ori asked her

"No, I don't want to rest… Not when we finally have the winds so close at hand."

The decay's presence began to spread out, taking distance…

Sein notices Ori's hands.

"Ori! You held one of my orbs?"

"I had to help you!" He explains

Sein had no reason to be mad at him, she takes a deep breath and calms down.

"Show me your hands dear, I will heal them."

As he lifts his hands, Sein glowed kindly, reducing the burn wounds to just a memory.

"Thank you, Sein."

"It's I who should be thankful." She replies. "Are you ready to restore the winds?"

"Yes, I am! There won't be a tornado of winds to chase after us will there?"

"Wow, now I am scared." Sein comments, laughing a little.

"Probably not my dear. As the winds are all pushed up to an exit of these caverns. So… we will just take our way back and the windstorm will also stop."

Finally, with the path clear, Ori and Sein could complete their goal in the Forlorn Ruins. Ori steps on the floating stairs of rocks, slowly reaching the frozen blue jewel.

"The wind lies before us, stored in the heart of this place" Sein spoke.

Gumo arrives, sneaking closer to hear them. Sein continued...

"These ruins are all that is left of the Gumon, reminding us of their fate." She paused. "Losing the ones that he loved, Gumo is the last of his kind."

"Ori, we will save Gumo. When our forest is restored, let us find him and bring him closer to the light, the darkness of Moon Grotto is not the place for him."

Ori agreed without saying a word.

"Just like your mother… He is not evil in any way… He needs a home, a new home. I wonder how Gumo would live with you and Naru in the Swallows Nest."

"Now, let's wait no longer. For the memory of the Gumon, the element of winds shall be restored!"

Sein flew closer to the jewel and shone with great intensity. The ice cracked and shattered, the machine was energized and its mechanisms began functioning. The great rings began spinning in place and the jewel to glow in orange, soon the machine was covered in orange runes.

A gentle current of wind blew from the machine towards the tunnels above into an exit of the caverns. The wind was warm and relaxing, like a gentle breeze but on a greater scale, it blows through the entire chamber.

Ori stood there with eyes closed, feeling the warm winds.

"Enjoying dear? Well, there is no rush."

Inspired by their words, Gumo decided to act. Gumo returned to the shrine and stared at the blessed small hammer. It had the light of the Spirit Tree… Gumo had an idea to make a miracle with it.

Gumo picked the hammer and pulled it away from the shrine. As soon the deed was done the energy was cut off, all runes dim out and balance was broken. Tremors shake the cavern at an alarming rate. Gumo ran away with the hammer to the tunnels he came from.

Ori and Sein are surprised by the tremors.

"What is happening?" Ori asked

"Ori, this is not good. The energy was cut off!"

"What does that mean?"

"The cavern is collapsing! We must leave now!"

"What about the element?"

"Fear not. The machine may break but the element cannot be harmed."

"We can't return the way we came, can we?"

Sein could agree, returning to the tunnels would be far too dangerous. She found another way out. She sees the tunnel up above the machine, the winds blow there into an exit…

"We will leave with the aid of the winds, through the tunnel above us!"

"Ride the winds, Ori, there is no time to lose!"

Ori pulled Kuro's feather and the winds pushed him into the tunnel above. As he goes with the current, many stalactites fell.

"Stay focused! I will deal with the stalactites!"

Sein took care of many falling spikes. Ori was adapting to the situation and maneuvering within the blowing winds. The chamber below was already buried in boulders of ice and stone. There was no turning back.

The tunnel soon was met into a dead end. Ice had blocked the way and the winds changed direction, turning into a sharp right, making Ori collide into a thin ice wall.

"Can you break it, Ori?"

"I don't know!" he replies

"Try to focus as you did before!"

Geysers of frost erupt from many spots on the tunnel. Ori had no time to think. Sein reserved the energy she had for a greater emergency.

Ori focused and closed his fist, pulling his arm back to punch the thin wall. Light gathers and the ice was shattered. They proceed further.

The winds pushed them and Ori could run on a surface, they meet another dead end and this time another thin wall below them.

"One more time dear. Can you do it?"

"I don't know." He confesses yet again. "Can't you blast the ice?"

He was panting and trying to catch his breath. Adrenaline ran through his body making him move faster and think faster. But uncertain still clouds his thoughts

"I can't right now, I need to conserve my energy. The battle from before took much from me"

Sein was acting suspiciously, not telling quite the truth.

As they discussed, new vile lizards poured from the holes on the walls. Ori took distance from them and picked the feather, he was blown upwards

"Above you!" Sein warns

A huge boulder was falling right above him.

Ori maneuvers and gets out of the way. The lizards are crushed and the ice wall was destroyed, the boulders fall in a giant hole. As they had no way to go, Ori decided to go down.

"Wait, Ori, the winds are not going down. Remember that we must follow the wind, it will guide us to the exit."

Strangely enough, they had to go down, and as soon he descended a little, the winds turned into another sharp curve. Showing a new path.

"That's the way we should go, come on!"

Ori followed the winds extremely focused. The tunnels were filled with spikes on every surface. Only gliding could get him through, as the winds blew him, Ori had to be very careful to not collide into the hazards. The path had many curves and turns, he managed to stand somewhat calm and focused. Sein blasted many stalactites with her beams and followed him in the wind current.

They were almost there, they managed to keep themselves safe as the winds guided them impetuously to the exit.

Geysers were erupting more frequently and Ori could not go through them at the wrong time. Sein held Ori in place as the geysers unleashed the frost steam, once it was clear the winds could take Ori in its current.

"Ori, I sense the decay up ahead. We will need to get through them."

"How are we doing it?" He asks

"You must bash me into the creatures and their blockade, okay? Get ready."

There was no time to discuss. As they dodged the geysers they arrived into a new tunnel going up, and at the end of it, light. The exit however had an ice wall and other vile lizards, they would do everything possible to detain the spirit.

Sein began charging and Ori focusing. When they got in range, he guards the feather and does a spin in the air, placing Sein in the right position and he aims at the blockade.

Her light draws a straight line as she travels at great speed. The blockade is destroyed and Ori goes down getting a safe distance from the blast. With the winds and the feather, he ascended back up as the shattered ice wall comes down, the lizards were vanquished, and Sein not within sight.

Ori guards the feather and double jumps mid-air to dodge the ice and boulders, he climbs on every boulder and leaps to every rock rapidly. With the final obstacle now below him, he picks the feather and Sein returns.

"Excellent job! Now let's make out of here!"

The winds take them out of the collapsing tunnels. Geyser's eruptions are even more intense. The tunnels are pretty much gone.

Ori glided as the winds took him for a ride, he arrives on a mountain high up over Feihar. As he lands back he uses a bit of time to recover from his fatigue.

"We did it, Ori. The winds are restored."

She looks at him sitting down and resting his back on a wall. Sein remembers a few words from Ario...

Eventually, Ori recovers and decides to explore his surroundings. Starting climbing the mountain a bit higher.

"Hey Ori, why don't we go down instead of up?"

"I want to see the landscape!"

"Oh, I am not comfortable... Remember last time we were in a high place?"

Ori shivers.

"I remember… This time we should be fine."

Sein was getting worried. The mountain looks like it hosts something…

Ori and Sein climb and find a huge bird nest. The nest was covered in a stone arc and right in the center, an egg.

"Ori, this place is not good." Sein said.

Ori looks to the city of Feihar below, the blizzard and windstorm had ceased. Daytime shines through the Forlorn Ruins, making it a great landscape of beauty and sorrow.

"Wow… I bet Ario would like to paint a view like this one…" Ori said.

Sein remains in silence, restless.

Ori decided to take a closer look at the egg, it was slightly larger than the spirit.

"Big egg." He chuckles.

"Ori… can we go please?"

He gets even closer to the egg, placing one hand on it.

"What bothers you, Sein?" He asked

"Ahn… This nest, it might..."

Ori's light began flowing into the egg, its shell glows in a bright white.

"What are you doing to the egg, Ori?"

"Hm… I don't know?"

"We should get moving."

Ori gets into a deep trance, he could see something...

"Sein, come to me quick." He called her.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Just land on my other hand."

Sein obeys and once she gets into contact, she has a vision of the past.

…

In the vision, they see Nibel during night time and a small family of owls and an egg on their nest.

The mother owl covers her owlets with her great dark indigo feathers to protect them from the cold. They get agitated and chirp to their mom, asking for food. The mother understands their request and goes out to hunt some grubs. In the meantime, the owlets await their mother's return.

Ori and Sein realized that this vision showed that fateful night.

A radiant light quickly traveled through the forest, the mother owl did not pay attention as she had found a good place to collect the food. She was not bothered by the light's energy. The Spirit Tree seems it was searching for something… something that belonged to it. Through the woods and branches of each tree, the light went further into the forest.

The light finds the nest and the owlets, its radiance quickly stresses the baby owls. As the light envelops the babies trying to figure if it was what they searched, they panic and scream.

The mother owl hears her children and rushes back to them. The light was already all over her nest, she shivers in fear. She flies with the utmost speed she could go, and when she arrived…

...It was too late.

Her children are found laying down lifeless. They could not resist the intensity... They were killed by the light of the Spirit Tree and Sein.

Only the egg remained. The unborn child was still safe from the light. As the mother mourns the loss of her children, she swears vengeance. She will protect her last-child, even it means destroying the wisp and killing all its spirits.

Hate changed her orange eyes to a glowing white. The dark owl takes flight in course to the Spirit Tree.

Nibel shall know fear. Below her dark indigo wings, the light, shall die."

...

"No…" Sein says traumatized

"It's my fault…" Sein says breaking apart.

Her light shifts to an intense grey.

"IT'S ALL MY FA-"

Ori hugs Sein in tears.

His embrace made Sein cry out loud as Ori himself also suffered from the vision. She feels so terrible, her light was never meant to kill owl chicks or any other baby of dark creatures. Now that Kuro's rage was explained, and how she turned into a hunter of the light, they couldn't plan their next move. They needed time to think… How can they help her…?

They had little time to calm down.

They hear her screech…


	12. Battle in the Skies

Kuro arrives on her nest and spots Ori and Sein way too close to her egg, her last child. She enrages and screeches loudly to protect the egg, spreading her wings and going in for the kill.

Sein acts quickly and blinds the dark owl in an enormous flash. Ori gets up and uses the small window of opportunity to run, arriving on the edge of the mountain he has no choice other than jump. Now that he has the feather the land safely, he wastes no time.

Kuro quickly recovers and chases after them.

"Ori, we cannot battle her! We must hide from her wrath!"

"Let's take cover in the ruins!" He replies as they fall

Kuro was quickly reaching them, in fact so fast that Ori will not be able to dodge midair

Sein sees the imminent danger of Kuro slicing Ori in half at that speed. She takes distance and teleports Ori to her. Kuro dives at an absurd speed and slices the air, leaving a trail of shadow energy behind her. Kuro recovers and chases them again.

Sein was already so tired, the teleport is the most energy-consuming trick she can do, she already had difficulty to fly. Ori held her as they fell into the ruined city of Feihar.

Ori falls into the snowfield and luckily it softened the fall. Kuro lands nearby and ravages the land mercilessly.

"Sein, what do we do?"

"Let us sneak away slowly. If she gets too close you must hide. Use the snow as camouflage"

"Camouflage?"

"It's a technique to blend within the environment. Since you're mostly white you can hide in the snow with ease, use it as an advantage and escape."

"Okay, I got it. But what about you?"

"Well, about that I have the weirdest idea right now..."

Kuro demolishes the ruins frenzied, she hunts the light.

"I don't care if it is weird! Look around us, there is no time to complain, tell me your plan."

Sein gathers the courage to say it.

"I was thinking I could shrink and hide inside your… mouth?"

Ori looks at her slightly perplexed.

"Are you serious?"

"Hm… maybe?"

"Ew, no. Not gonna happen. What if I swallow you by accident? No, just no."

"Then how can we move without me giving away your position?"

"I will remain low, so you just stay below me and hold onto me"

Kuro approaches slicing the snow on her wake. Sein whispers:

"Good thinking, but I lack the hands to grasp your plan"

Kuro gets really close. She stops to see if she can catch any sounds.

Ori was laying down on the snow as Sein was right below him. As Kuro scans the area slowly, Ori picks Sein and stands up to move when Kuro looks away. He goes quickly and his footsteps are heard. Kuro glances in his direction and doesn't see him. Ori hides behind a tall rock and sneakily moves away to the next hideout.

Kuro follows the sound, she slices the snow and the tall rock with anger and screeching, at that moment Ori runs as her screech will cover the sound of his footsteps.

Sein whispers:

"Good job Ori, we got some distance. Let's run away now while she hasn't noticed."

Ori and Sein sprint away, getting valuable distance from the dark owl.

Grunts and movement came down as a pack of animals leaps at the spirit. They jump instead of walking, they were victims of the decay.

"The monkeys!?" Ori gets extremely worried.

"Oh no." Sein gets scared.

"This is the worst moment possible for them to show up!"

The hoppers returned to take revenge for their fallen kin on the assault they had failed. Unsuspecting the dark owl's presence nearby, they challenged Ori.

Ori dodges the hoppers with ease, their landings make a lot of noise.

"Ori, we must get away from here before-"

Kuro lands on the hoppers with eyes fixed on the spirit.

"...she finds us."

Ori and Sein are found without a clue of what to do. Her gaze of hatred freezes them in place. Kuro gives them no quarter.

Kuro lunges her beak forward on Ori. Sein charges her light and gets in front in order to repel the attack, but her blast was too weak. Kuro gets Sein in her beak and begins to crush the wisp

"Sein!" Despair takes hold of him.

Sein feels utterly defenseless against the dark owl's sharp beak. She begins to shatter under the colossal pressure.

"My dear…! Please run! I can't… stand this for much longer!"

Ori attacks Kuro with everything he has. His amplified punches do nothing. Bashing the massive body of Kuro won't make her even budge. Ori realized he had no real offensive abilities to protect Sein.

"Stop it Kuro! She is not responsible for your children! It's my fault!"

Tears rolled down his face. Sein cracks a little more with every passing second. Kuro steps over Ori to keep him still while she finishes the wisp, he lays on his back and her talons are way too close to attempt escaping.

"Ori… I am so sorry." Sein says losing her glow.

Ori calls out to her in despair. Adrenaline and panic made him too desperate to find a solution, all he could think was to beg for Kuro to not hurt her further.

"LET HER GO!" The young spirit shouts out.

A charged arrow of light hits Kuro in the head. Stunned, the dark owl releases Ori and Sein.

Ori picks the wounded wisp and runs away without a second thought. Sein had many cracks, she was lightless and unconscious.

Kuro feels even more enraged and looks for the source of the sneak attack.

"Over here featherhead!" A familiar voice shouted from the distance.

Kuro glares in the call's direction. High up in the sky… a flying ship with propellers, sails, propulsors, and a spirit armed with an arc stood in her domain.

"Franz, untie the sails! We're taking our owl friend to a tour."

"Right away captain!"

"Layla, take the steering wheel! Full speed ahead."

"On it, cap!"

"Daruk, go down there and pick them for me, say that you're with me so you won't scare him. Meet us on the Spirit Tree"

"Understood. Good luck Ario."

Kuro takes flight and gets hit by another charged arrow of light.

"Cap, I hope you're sure about taking this fight. We are at disadvantage to fight a dark owl in the open skies."

"Worry not Layla. This is for him. This is for the future of Nibel."

Ori heard the familiar voice so clearly, but would not stop running. With Sein on his arms, he aimed to the exit of the Forlorn Ruins.

A large being covered in white wool lands in front of Ori, halting his advance. It had arms longer than its legs, it moves in a knuckle-walking style".

"Greetings young spirit, my name's Daruk. I come in peace."

Ori stares at the strange primate scared and shaking.

"Ario sent me to help you. Please climb on my back. We have a long way ahead of us"

"Ario…?" Ori repeats. "What are you?"

"I am a Jotun, I come from an icy and distant land. You hold one of the 7 lights of our world young one. Come with me, I will get you to Ario and safety."

Ori was too scared to even think of running. His worry for Sein could rival the anger of Kuro. Reluctant, he accepted the aid of the Jotun.

"Sein is hurt…!" He said in tears.

"Fear not, she will heal in time. She is stronger than you can imagine."

"It's all my fault…!" His legs gave up.

"Hold her close to you. Don't let her go for nothing young one"

The Jotun picked Ori up and began moving to the meeting place.

Meanwhile in the skies…

Ario fights off the unrelenting rage of Kuro. Aiming with precision every shot to slow down the dark owl.

"Spirit art: Volley"

Ario shoots up one arrow high up and a thousand smaller arrows come down on Kuro.

Kuro is bothered by the small arrows and slows down, as it were small bugs biting on her. As the arrows cease she speeds up and a shadow trail follows her wake, painting the clear skies in black.

"Is that shadow bending?!" Layla asked.

"Yes, a very few dark creatures can do such thing at that level." Ario replies.

"Franz, take the wheel. Layla, come here and aid me."

The crew members take new roles. Layla uses her Spirit Ignition to enhance Ario's arrows in flames. Her light glows in a burning orange.

Kuro reaches closer to strike the ship.

"Away from my ship, featherhead"

Ario charges an arrow of light and flame, he takes aim and shots Kuro in the head. The flames almost swallow the huge dark owl and she goes down with the impact.

"Did we do it?" Layla asks.

Ario notices the clouds below darkening…

"Franz! Evasive maneuver! All force up!"

The ship goes quickly with its prow upwards.

"Hold on everyone!"

Kuro comes up charging on a cloud of darkness. She misses the ship and begins to dive in again.

"Full port side!" Ario warns

Another maneuver, the ship spins and manages to get out of way just in time. Kuro prepares to dive in again.

"We can't stay dodging her attacks forever! What can we do?" Franz warns.

Ario takes his quill pen.

"Layla, grant me your aid again."

"Alright, just make it quick. I can't channel it for much time."

"Spirit Art: Cannon"

Ario quickly draws a cannon and with a snap of fingers, it was it fully created and functioning. Layla loads the canon with a flame orb and lights the wick.

"Franz! Tie the sails. Get ready to use the full burst to get us out of here!"

"Aye! Yeah, send the bird guy to do all navigation, no problems here"

"Glad you like it!" Ario says

Kuro charges in and the cannon blasts on her face. Her advance and the blast created a huge shockwave and explosion. The ship is covered in a cloud of smoke and darkness.

"Full speed ahead, to the Spirit Tree!"

The ship's propulsors activate and then it flies away at great speed, they leave the dark cloud.

"Is the owl gone?" Franz asks

Ario frowns.

"Spirit Art…" Ario charges new arrows.

"Yikes. This will be hard…" Franz takes the wheel

Kuro emerges out of the cloud on the chase once more. She inhales gathering shadow energy, soon to release it on a devastating breath.

"...Barrage!"

Ario shoots thousands of arrows and Kuro exhales. Light and dark energy clash on a dispute whose energy is stronger. Ario struggles to hold off the shadow energy as he can't conjure more arrows fast enough, Kuro quickly begins to win the dispute.

"Hold on Ario! Layla, do your thing!" Franz shouts.

Layla uses her ability to aid in any way

"Spirit Ignition: Enhancement."

Layla glows in orange, boosting her agility and strength, she leaps out of the ship and gives Kuro a powerful kick on the nape of her head. Kuro stops the shadow breath and Ario stops shooting.

Layla leaps back to the ship as Kuro goes down momentarily. Ario kneels tired, catching his breath.

"Ario, we can't win this! She won't stop until we are dead." Layla says

Ario stand back up and closes in on Layla

"I know that, but she will tire soon or we will die trying"

Layla goes even closer.

"Hate when you say like this. Did you save me from that desert just to kill me here? Stop joking and save us, captain Ario"

The two are now a few centimeters from each other.

"Then do the following Layla: believe in me."

Layla blushes a little and loses her tough face.

"I… understand..."

Ario takes distance and prepared his arc.

"Layla, pick a little of spirit light of Altum for me. Time to cool down the temperature."

"Okay~" She goes to their stock.

"You two have a story together no?" Franz asks

"Keep your feathers down Franz. I don't want to kill two birds tonight!" Ario replies

"Hey, I'll let you know again that I am not just a bird, but a proud member of the feathered clan of Quitos of Friol"

"Yeah yeah, thank you for reminding me Kako bird"

"Don't call me Kako!"

Ario hears her screech…

"Here she comes, she is even faster than before."

"Ario, I got the spirit light of Altum!" Layla arrives

A red glowing orb of light originated from the Spirit Spruce and Seid, known to be able to harness the powers of ice to whoever that is gifted by it for some time.

"Great job Layla, may the second round begin!"

…

In the land below, Daruk takes Ori and Sein to the Spirit Tree. Ori cries while hugging Sein tight.

"Don't cry young one, she is an immortal being. She will be fine very soon."

"It's all my fault this happened!"

"I am sure it is not, and you did everything you could. Be proud of it"

Ori was laying down on the back of the Jotun, fairly safe and hidden in its wool. Daruk thinks about doing something to cheer Ori a little.

"Young spirit, what is this place we are in called?"

Ori takes a moment to stand up and pop his head out of the wool, wiping his tears and calming down as he recognizes the place.

"We're in the Valley of the Wind." he says saddened

"Oh, I like the name and this place sure is cool."

Daruk stops for a moment and starts humming.

"humm hm-hm-hm-hu, hum-hu-hu-hu-hm"

"huuummm… hum huum… hmmmmm"

A cool breeze comes forth and obeys the Jotun, it dances around them and creates ice and snow.

Ori observed amused and in silence as Daruk picks a small branch laying on the ground, humming the melody.

"hum-hmm… hu-hm-hu-hmmm, huhmm, hm… huumm~!"

The magical breeze envelops the small branch and turns it into an ice cream cone. Daruk hands the cone to Ori"

"Whats… what's this?" He picks the ice cream, quickly noticing it was pretty cold to hold."

"What is your name young spirit?"

"Its Ori."

"This is ice cream, young Ori. My kind likes it very much. It's a very sweet and frozen food, mostly a dessert. Give it a try, this one is vanilla flavored, my personal favorite."

Ori decides to give it a taste, he takes it closer to his mouth and slightly touches the tip of his tongue on the ice cream's dough. The taste is good and it's very cold. He blinks his eyes a few times and licks the ice cream, savoring the flavor of the dessert.

"Seems you liked it" Daruk giggles

Ori grew used to the cold dough and was licking more and more vividly the ice cream.

"It's really good, thank you Daruk! How do you do this?"

"You're welcome. My kind has an affinity of Wind Bending, I tend to use a melody to make the winds do as I wish. Other Jotuns can do the same but instead of humming, they wave their arms to play with the winds."

"Wind Bending? This is really cool!"

The Sun is setting in Nibel. Daruk decides to move to the meeting place at a steady pace.

Ori finishes eating the ice cream and returns his attention to Sein, she is still unconscious and her spherical body still has many cracks.

"Young Ori, for how long were you accompanying the wisp of Nibel?"

Ori stares at Sein in his hands and thinks about it.

"I… don't know. I don't like to remember the past. Sein is all I have…"

"Seems you went through a lot… I can tell by the tone of your voice. I can give you one saying of the Earth Mother, it goes like this: The top of the highest mountain holds nothing of value if you expect too much from it. Rather, focus on the climbing so the treasure you seek will come in an even greater scale"

The night skies of Nibel presented them with a carpet of stars, all shining like the light of Sein on that night. Ori once again indulges himself in thinking if only he had returned to the Spirit Tree that day...

"I may not know what you had to live to get here, but do know… The Earth Mother always grants rewards for all that venture forward in their journeys. You are in good hands young Ori, you just need to believe and not blame yourself."

Silence dominated Ori as they traveled, he kept hugging Sein lost in thoughts.

"The journey…" He was feeling sleepy.

"..."

"We have arrived young Ori."

Daruk reaches the Spirit Tree and no signs of Ario or the others. He goes closer to the tree and climbs it. Ori pops his head out of his wool.

"Hey Daruk, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to check if my ship is coming.

"Your ship?" Ori asks.

"Yes, I travel together with Ario, and a HUGE crew of four members in total" He replies playfully

"That's not huge you know… But hey Daruk, you come from Altum, right?" Ori asked the Jotun.

"That's right. I think my characteristics give that away doesn't it?"

Daruk reaches the top of the highest branch of the Spirit Tree. One very faint and glowing energy travels out of the Spirit Tree's wood and flies to Sein without Ori and Daruk noticing.

"They are late, I wonder if they are okay…"

…

High up in the skies the battle soon comes to its end.

"How long till we get there!?" Ario asks

"Approximately in ten minutes!" Franz replies

Kuro chased them violently, the ship was running more and more in danger with every second.

The element of cold made Ario's arrows slow down Kuro, she flies far up to evade the shots, she then dives down building up speed, soon to strike the ship with a devastating swoop.

"Oi! Just letting you guys know that we can't dodge!"

Ario charges his last arrow

"Spirit Art: Chained Spear"

The arrow turns into a large spear with chains connected in the back of it. Ario uses his shoulder to support the spear in his arc

"Layla, do the honors."

"What if it kills her?" She asks.

"This won't kill a large being of darkness like this owl, nothing that we do would be able to."

"This spear will just be another method… to slow her down." Ario pants while standing firm.

Layla gathers her remaining energy to strike the back of the spear and launch it on the owl.

"Strike hard Layla, we depend on it"

"I will need to rest after this one!" She lets him know

The orange glowing energy gathers in her fists and she strikes the back of the spear, launching it forward with great power. Ario misses the shot on the dark owl.

"Ario! How can you miss like this?" Layla asks stressed.

The spear flies ahead and approaches the upper right side of Kuro as she was quickly diving in. Ario gives a confident look to Layla

"Are you sure I missed?"

Ario grabs the chain and twists it, bending the chain and changing the course of the spear once it was in the right place and at the right moment. The chain wraps up on Kuro and she is unable to spread one of her wings, she interrupts her dive and losses control as she gets more and more tangled in the chains.

"She is falling! We did it" Layla and Franz celebrate.

Kuro loses altitude and screeches loudly as she goes down.

"This should leave her busy for a while… I need a break." Ario sat down to relax.

"Squork! We are five minutes from our destination."

"Hope Daruk is alright with Ori…"

Layla overheard Ario and comes closer.

"I wish to have a look at that Ori, Ario"

"Hey Layla, don't even think to get all cuddly with him"

"Oh but I will, I want a reward from this battle"

"Stubborn girl… Sein may not like it you know?"

Layla gets shocked.

"Sein!? The wisp of Nibel is with him?!"

"Yes, so be careful with your words and actions in her presence. Ori is very special to her."

"I will keep it in mind, it will be an honor to meet the wisp of Peace and Serenity! I'm excited!"

Franz spots the Spirit Tree.

"Oi! We have arrived guys."

In the great branches of the Spirit Tree, Daruk and Ori were chatting.

"Oh look, there they are!" Daruk points out.

Ori observes the skies looking for the ship until he eventually finds it, he had the most impressed reaction to date, the ship was so big and how it could fly he did not yet know.

"Young Ori, come on aboard. Ario awaits you."

The ship docks close to them, Daruk does a leap and gets in the ship. Ario and the others come to greet the Jotun,

"Hey Daruk, good to see you well. How is he?"

"Greetings Ario, he is in my back."

"Oh." Ario thinks a little. "Hey Ori, come down! I welcome you to the Zephyr, the most wondrous flying ship you'll ever see!"

They wait for a few moments.

"Daruk, you sure he is in there?"

Daruk laughs a little.

"Yeah I am sure, I can feel him on my back."

"It's a wise decision to not come out of that wool fortress, aye. I would do the same."

"I found him!" Layla calls out.

Ario searches for Layla and she was nowhere to be found, she is spotted on the back of Daruk. Ario facepalms.

"Hi, Ori~!"

The young spirit is found on the wool laying down while hugging Sein. He feels very shy to meet new faces. As the female spirit spots him, he curls up.

"Oh, my glorious light. I just fell in love~"

"Layla please…" Ario says

Layla grabs Ori and kindly pulls him out of Daruk's wool. She hugs him from behind and he is taken to the ship's deck with Sein in his arms.

"Layla, let him go." Ario politely asks.

Layla slowly lets him go as Ori is able to place his hoofs on the ship's floor. He meets Ario once again and tears pour from his eyes.

Ario kneels and invites him for a hug with arms wide open. Ori walks to Ario slowly and then rushes to him with his vision blurred by the tears. Once in his range, Ario pulls the hurt spirit closer, he lets out a painful cry because of the recent turn of events. Franz and Daruk observe their reencounter...

"Another glowy ears, aye. I wanted to have a turtle in the crew yo."

"Maybe next time Kako bird".

"Don't call me Kako squork!

Layla watches the young spirit crying so much on Ario's arms… She felt so bad for him.

Ario pets his head.

"It's alright my guy, you two did great today"

Ori had no words to utter, he felt so guilty for Sein that all he could do was to cry. Ario notices the wisp in his hands and realizes what happened to Sein. He feels in short relief for him to be able to rescue them from the dark owl, if they took any longer, Sein would shatter. And after her, Ori would meet his end.

After some time, Ori calmed down and still won't let go of Sein. He was taken to Ario's room to rest in a bed of soft large pillows. Ori did not pay attention to his surroundings and was almost sleeping as someone knocks on the door and a feminine voice reaches him.

"Hi Ori, how are you doing?" Layla shows herself.

That female spirit from before... probably as old as Ario, but mostly different. As Ori glared at Layla he notices she had long and curly tuft-horns, a thin body, a very thick tail, and strong legs. "A fighter…?" Ori was thinking as he stared at her.

"Ah yes… You must have heard already, but let me introduce myself properly. I am Layla, your newest friend~".

Ori still glanced at her without words to say. Layla gets a little more caring.

"Hey, I learned what happened to…" Layla looks at Sein. "Forgive me, but I am here if you need something okay? My room is just the next door to the right, I'll leave you be now."

Layla was leaving the room, at that moment Ori lifted his arm to reach for her

"Wait!" He says suddenly.

Ori finds himself without explanations for asking her to wait, it was a reflex, his body moved on its own. Layla returns and asks him what can she do. He stays in silence once more.

Meanwhile, Ario notices the missing of Layla.

"Franz, Daruk, any of you know where Layla is?"

"Not hidden in my wool, for sure."

"Meh, she might have gone to her room at this point. It's fairly late aye?"

Ario considers for a moment.

"Or she went to my room…" He sighs as he realizes she went to visit Ori.

"Now, that's a possibility, she is a very kindred soul for those who find themselves alone." Daruk comments

"Oi, how can she know that? She has an intuition that sharp?" Franz asks

Ario remembers about Layla's past…

"She was lonely too. I understand what she wants to do. I'll go check on them."

"Oi, wait a moment Ario. What are your plans for that young glowy ears?"

"I will do what Sein could not."

"Eh, that means new crew member confirmed?"

"I won't force him to come with us, so no confirmation so far. He probably has a home to return to Nibel, so it will be his choice."

Ario goes downstairs to the inner suits of the ship, he walks up to his room and opens the door.

"Helloooo" He says slowly and quietly.

Ario puts a smile on his face as he sees them.

"Layla strikes again."

Ori and Layla were sleeping together comforting each other. Sein is found right between them. The wisp showed a very faint glow within her.

Ario wanted to inspect the wisp closer so he quietly and carefully picks Sein and leaves the room. He sits down in the hallway, observing her cracks and lightless form. She already began to heal, even unconscious.

"Oh, Sein… Maybe you could have avoided this, maybe it could have gone differently. I am in the end certain that you did what was best for him, I won't judge you, as you never judged me."

Ario changes to a sadder mood.

"May my brother guide you until the end…" Ario curls up

"I do not hate you... "

"I do not hate you… for taking my brother…" He cries in silence.

…


	13. On Board the Zephyr

The night felt eternal, nightmares of Kuro hurting Sein haunted Ori in his sleep until the day dawned. Thanks to new company, Ori could rest for the next day, for a new chapter of his journey.

...

"Good morning~" Layla gently pokes Ori on the nose. "Time to wake up." She tells him.

Ori slowly wakes up and notices how close Layla is, he remembers that he held onto her the entire night and immediately lets go of her, taking distance.

"Hope you slept well. You were so afraid last night."

Ori felt very shy. He did not know what to say, but also he felt grateful for the company.

"We should get moving. Ario will arrive here at any moment and possibly scold me for sleeping with you."

Ori remains in silence and Layla gets up.

Ori sees Sein on her pillow, still worried about the health of the wisp.

"Hey Ori, what do you say about knowing the place? Take Sein with you, or you can let her sleep."

Ori was silent and gave Layla a small nod. He leaves Sein as comfy as possible on the pillow and they leave the room to explore the ship.

Soon Ori and the crew are reunited, they show the young spirit the grand ship in detail. They visit every suit of the Zephyr: the kitchen, bedrooms, a training room, a snowy playground which is also Daruk's bed with an open view of the skies and much more. Ori was explained about the crew and their roles in more details, learning the following:

Ario is a spirit from Nibel, an archer and the captain. He commands the ship and the crew's next objectives. Does repairs too.

Layla is the one that cooks the meals for the crew, and also has a very strong support fire type abilities. She too is a spirit, but probably not from Nibel.

Franz is a flightless bird, with a variety of colorful feathers. He hates to be called Kako, apparently, it is a non-sapient kind of seagull that looks similar to him. Franz also has a wide sense of humor and no fighting knowledge. His role is the navigator, responsible to navigate the ship in the right direction and make the travels safe. This sapient bird species are probably not from Nibel as well.

Daruk was the musician...? A native from Altum, a very big and strong creature known as Jotun. They have a deep affinity with the wind, allowing them to control them. He does the heavy lifting for the crew and repairs, and also sleeps a lot.

As the day went on and Ori got used to the new environment. Soon after, Ario had a new set of plans for Ori.

"Hey, Ori!" Ario calls the young spirit.

Ori hears the call and goes closer to Ario.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

"I am better, I thank you and your friends for taking care of me."

"That's great to hear. Listen, I have something important to tell you."

Ori prepares himself to listen to whatever it may be.

"Okay…" He says nervously.

"Sein will take a while to be restored"

Ori's ears droop by those words.

"Maybe in one or two weeks, she'll be awakened." Ario says.

Thankfully it wasn't that long of a time to wait, but still worrisome. Just that small amount of time for Kuro to put the wisp of Nibel in such a state. Ori remembers that moment like it was minutes ago, he dares to think further in that situation...

"Ario, what would happen if Kuro... " Ori bit his lower lip and looked down.

"Hey, look at me." Ario rises Ori's head with one hand under his chin.

"Ori, Sein is immortal, she wouldn't die, that is certain."

"Then why is she so hurt?" Ori pushes Ario's hand away.

"However, she can shatter and it would fragment her in many pieces. If that happened her pieces would fly far, far away and our mission would then be to recover the pieces and restore Sein. Be thankful that she resisted long enough to not get to such a point. I never had to restore a wisp but I bet it would be very difficult."

Ori goes silent, lost in his thoughts. Ario speaks up:

"You did great there Ori. You protected Sein, so cheer up."

Frustration enrages Ori.

"Lies! I could do nothing to help Sein. I had no power against Kuro! Sein always has to protect me and I just slow her down!"

Layla overhears the conversation and Franz joins her

"You think so?" Ario asks Ori

"She has not shattered thanks to you and friends!"

Ario takes a deep relaxing breath

"Listen, don't say you slow her down. Because if you did, you wouldn't be here today."

Ario places one hand on Ori's shoulder.

"You have more power than you imagine. Just look at yourself, look how far you've come."

Layla enters the conversation with Franz.

"Ario is right, you should not let this frustration weigh inside you. Instead, turn it into courage and strength to press forward"

"Aye, It's like I always say: if you look down on yourself, so shall everyone else."

"You never said that before Franz" Layla points out.

"Silence squork!"

Ori laughs a little from the humorous bird, but still thinks he needs to make a step to an unknown territory.

"It's all my fault in the end, I can't change the past!"

Thinking for a solution, Ario places one hand under his chin

"Hmm, can we do something to prevent it from happening again?"

"I wish to! I just don't know how..." Ori replies

"I see." Ario picks his quill pen and starts to draw as he speaks

"Maybe you need to make a change, to par up with Sein on a new level. A change that will give you an 'arsenal' of options. You need to dominate a new form of Light Bending"

Ario draws a variety of weapons, with a snap of fingers they solidify and are displayed for Ori.

"Choose one of any weapon you see: the sword, the hammer, the polearm, the bow or shield."

As Ario observes Ori staring at the weaponry he puts a little thought on it as what would Sein say about this... Possibly she would be against teaching Ori how to fight, to teach him the ways of violence in fear he would change.

As Ori approached one of the weapons, Ario interrupted him.

"Listen, Ori, if you wish to change, you must be willing to make that difference. If you pick one of these weapons, you will embark on a new path, not for good or evil, but for a great change in you. Are you sure you want to proceed?"

Ori sees his surroundings... he looks at Layla, who confidently awaits his decision. Then to Franz, who gives him a nod. Daruk was not nearby, maybe he was still sleeping. And finally to Ario, who showed him a new path. Everyone awaited Ori to make a choice, and Sein was his motivation to press forward.

Ori looked at himself and made his decision.

"I will protect Sein as she protected me. I will learn light-bending! Please teach me Ario!" He says determinedly.

His words made the crew rejoice. Ario does another deep breath.

"Very well. Do know that learning a new light-bending form is not easy, so you better get ready"

"I am ready! I won't run away anymore!"

"Alright, I know you won't. So go forward, pick one weapon of your choice. After that, you'll learn how to wield it and fight with it"

The weapons displayed are within reach. Ori approaches and picks the sword, its steel makes the sword very heavy to lift it fully.

"The sword huh? Usually the first weapon of choice of many spirits too."

"It's so heavy!" Ori struggles to lift the sword.

"Don't worry Ori. This sword is heavy now, but that's not the weapon you'll carry with you on your journey."

Ori seems confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll conjure your own sword, that will be your light-bending training. You'll conjure a sword just like the one you hold, but made of light, and obviously, much lighter. Additionally, the sword conjured by spirits is called Spirit Edge, so remember that"

Ori drags the sword around with difficulty.

"Okay then!" he lets go of the sword. "I need that lighter weapon because this one is too heavy"

Ario puts a grim smile on his face.

"Ah, poor guy. This is where the fun begins"

Ori's ears droop again.

"What… what do you mean?"

"You'll go through physical training, and then you'll do the light-bending exercises. And finally, you'll test your new set of skills, on a little adventure that you'll go, just you and me, in a very dangerous place."

"Ario~" Layla steps up glowing in orange and with a lovely smile.

"You better be careful with him. We don't want the wisp of Peace and Serenity after our tails do we?"

Ario gets amused and turns to her.

"Oh ho, that wisp glows in orange now? I never noticed that!"

They step closer to each other. Ario summons his arc and Layla glows stronger.

"You better be very careful now… otherwise~~"

Franz takes Ori a bit farther away from them, explaining the situation.

"Aye, Layla is a funny thing, for as much she likes the captain she will duel him for any reason whatsoever."

Ori gets worried.

"They will fight? But why?"

"Layla has a very strong passion to conquer a challenge. And the challenge she set for herself is to beat Ario in a duel. She sometimes just needs a little incentive. She's a tough girl, so I recommend caution when interacting with her."

"But she was so nice to me yesterday."

"Ah yep, she is a sweetheart too. Don't let my words scare you away from her. She is docile to anyone, just, don't give her a reason for her to use her ignition against you."

A duel was about to begin.

"I've beaten you thousands of times Layla. Would be wise to admit that I am a challenge you'll never surpass."

"Do not mock me, cap. You know the heat always goes to my head first." She puts on a tough face. "And then to my kicks!"

Layla dive kicks on Ario and he dodges her attack. She crashes on a pile of empty barrels.

"Oof. Spicy kick you got there!" He teases her.

Layla rushes in again with a genuine smile on her face. Ori felt the duel wasn't that serious, it seemed like two friends playing together.

She strikes Ario with many acrobatic kicks and Ario dodges every single one of them. Her glowing energy increases her agility with every passing second.

Layla hops around at great speed circling Ario. She searches for an opening to strike. Ario knows her weaknesses quite well and uses it as his advantage.

"What would Sein think when she discovers that you slept with Ori hmm?"

His question makes Layla lose her focus, she gets worried and stumbles. She rolls away nearing the edge of the ship. Ario holds her before she could fall from the ship.

"Did I hit a mark there?" He laughs

Layla was dizzy for a moment.

"You meanie! Sein wouldn't be mad would she?!"

"I dunno, ask her when she wakes up."

Franz and Ori were watching from a safe distance.

"Aye, it's over. Ario wins again."

"Their duel was really cool!" Ori said, impressed.

"Eh? You liked it? They do it more often than I would like. They can teach you too."

Ori gets excited, he wanted to learn how to fight like that.

Ario aids Layla to stand back up and the young spirit closes upon them.

"Hi, Ori. Sorry if I scared you there."

"You definitely scared him, look at the poor… boy?" Ario got perplexed.

Ori's eyes sparkled like stars. He was so impressed by their show.

"So cute~!"

"Guys, I wanna learn! I want to begin my training!"

Ario lets out a small sigh.

"And you will, my guy. Get ready because tomorrow morning your physical training begins."

"It can begin now if you can place the sword in your room. But not necessarily you if you don't wish to."

Ario puts more thought about what he just said. He sweats a little

"I have a room?" Ori asks.

"You do, It has four beds there and the room is empty at the moment. You're not afraid of sleeping alone, are you?"

"Of course not!" He replies glaring at Layla for a second. "I'll take the sword there then"

He starts to drag the sword.

"Okay okay okay, hold up. You're scratching my deck. Leave the sword. Tomorrow you'll have it."

"Oh, okay…"

The drawn weapons vanish with a new snap of fingers.

"Go play with the crew for today, and do be ready for tomorrow, because I won't go easy on you. There is no turning back if you truly wish to not slow Sein down anymore"

Ori felt pissed with Ario's words. It made his determination grow to prove he could learn the new form of light-bending. More than that, Ori was curious about the training we would go through.

"Ario, can you tell me more about the training?"

"The first training, the physical one, will make you tired and you'll sweat a lot. Basically, you will do a variety of exercises multiple times. Through pain and hard work, your body will adapt to the harsh tasks, and thus making you physically stronger. Also, you'll need to eat more than just fruits, your body will need more nutrients to keep up with the training."

"More than fruits? But I've never eaten anything besides that or Sein's light"

"You've eaten Sein's light?" Ario asks

Ori gets embarrassed.

"Ahn, she can make food. In essence, she could copy its taste and nutrients but it is still her light in the form of a fruit."

Ario notices he was uncomfortable.

"Hey, It's great that Sein can feed you with her powers. But here on my ship, you'll be eating new things, so get ready. I don't want a picky person on our table."

"Okay then… What do you guys usually eat?"

"You'll see soon enough. Now go play, I'll be in my room painting."

"Oh! Can I see more paintings later?"

"Why of course my guy. If I am in my room you can visit me anytime."

Ori remembers something important.

"Hey Ario, can I visit Sein?"

"Of course you can. You wanna see her now?"

Ori nods.

"Okay, come with me."

While the crew does something else, Ario and Ori go to the captain's bedroom. Upon arriving, Ori could now see more of the room that he previously did not see because of his sad mood. Many paintings of places and spirits displayed around, and in the bed, there was she, the wisp of Nibel slept with a faint glow within her.

Ori slowly picks Sein up.

"She has a weak glow now…! This is good right?"

"Yes, it means she began to heal." Ario replies.

"She doesn't need to stay close to me or a source of light?"

"Not at all, she already has her source of light."

"What do you mean?"

Ario momentarily glares at one particular painting, one with two nibelian spirits together, one spirit is older than the other.

"There is a whole story to answer that simple question, my guy. And right now, I am not feeling like telling it."

Ori did not want to question further. He looks at Sein and leaves her on her soft pillow. With a regretful look, he promises to make a difference, for their journey and themselves.

"Ori, it's almost time for lunch. Layla is already cooking, go visit her in the kitchen. I'll be there soon"

Ori could smell the food, but not recognize it.

"Cooking?" He asks perplexed.

"Cooking is an act of preparing food for consumption, be it with heat or fire. Go check it out."

"Oh, right." More questions appeared in Ori's mind.

"About Layla, she is very different, isn't she? Could she be a spirit of a different forest?"

"Because she is. Layla is a spirit of Kainar, a savannah, and desert like land with a very arid climate. I got stories about that forest to tell you later."

"Really? I can't believe I met a spirit from another forest!" He says overjoyed.

"Glad you liked her. She likes you too."

Ori feels shy knowing she already proved that.

"I'll go see her then! See you very soon, Ario."

"See ya."

Ori leaves Sein and Ario behind and goes to the kitchen following the smell of food. When arriving on the ship's deck, Franz and Daruk are chatting and awaiting Layla to call them.

"Hey, guys. What are you two doing?"

"Greetings Ori, we await for Layla to finish lunch."

"Yo" Franz waves.

"What is that smell? The food?" Ori asks

"Aye, judging by the smell, today Layla is cooking fish and eggs."

"Hey, Franz" Daruk called. "Isn't it a taboo for a bird to eat eggs?"

"Not my eggs, me no care squork."

Ori tries to imagine the food.

"Fish and eggs? I've never eaten that."

"Yum, it's good and it's healthy, my feathers get smoother after a delicious meal."

"How come Layla cooks?" Ori was curious.

"Aye, she learned how to cook in her home I believe, her spirit ignition also can create fire, so she just gets the ingredients and follows some kind recipe I guess?"

"That's right." Daruk adds up. "Although I prefer the cold type of food, it suits me better."

"Bah! You may eat even ice if you wanted, but also makes the poor Layla cook a huge pot for someone your size"

"I said to her that she need not to, but she insists, and I also like her food." Daruk laughs.

A bell sounds from the kitchen.

"Food is ready! Come on up!" Layla calls the crew.

"Let's go, glowy ears, today you shall be impressed."

Daruk awaits outside since he was too big to fit in the kitchen.

"Welcome to the kitchen Ori~. Give me a sec and I'll get you the food. Grab a seat by the table!"

Layla goes outside bringing a very big cauldron of fish stew with many vegetables.

"There you go Daruk! Enjoy!"

"Many thanks, Layla."

Layla goes back to the kitchen and sees Ori waiting on his seat. She gets a bowl and with a ladle, pours the soup in it for him.

"Here it is Ori, this is a fish soup with eggs and vegetables. Enjoy~"

She places the food in front of him, a lot of vapor comes out of the soup. He doesn't know what to do or how to react.

"Ah, thank you…"

"First time trying a fish soup? I hope you like it"

Layla serves herself and Franz goes right after. Franz decides to eat outside and Layla stays with Ori. She uses a utensil made of wood with a shallow bowl at the end of the handle.

The same utensil was in Ori's bowl. He tries to mimic Layla but the food was quite hot.

The smell is very appetizing and hunger comes forth. He kinda missed Sein making his food, but she is not able to do that at the moment. Layla notices Ori fairly disperse.

"Anything wrong?" Layla asks.

Ori gives her a shy smile and shakes his head.

"If the food is too hot, blow it a little~."

He does as recommended, and soon he asks Layla:

"Layla, what is this thing?" He lifts the utensil in his bowl.

"It's a spoon Ori, use it to get the food and bring it to your mouth."

He sinks his spoon on the soup, collecting the broth.

"Our ship is something else, isn't it? All those utensils and fancy equipment are particularly more common in Hoa and Kainar. So they are not very known in many places."

Ori was very focused on the soup and barely heard what Layla said. He brings the warm soup to his mouth and eats it. His ears tilt and waggle as the flavor fills his taste buds. The warm and thick liquid is so delicious that it sends a lightning-like shock through his maw. He fills up his cheeks and enjoys every moment.

Layla observes him with a lovely smile.

"So cute~"

"Seems like you liked the soup, I am glad."

"It tastes great! I really like it!" He says out loud

He keeps eating with pleasure. Layla looks around, wondering.

"Hey Ori, you know if Ario will come to eat?"

Ori finishes swallowing to answer.

"He said to me that would soon come."

"He was in his room right?"

Ori nods.

Layla puts a slightly worried look on her face and thinks to herself:

"Alone in his room again…? He is not hungry?"

Layla gets up without finishing her meal.

"I'll go check him, please enjoy the soup, Ori."

Layla leaves the kitchen and goes outside, on the ship's deck, and goes downstairs. Suddenly…

*Bump*

"Woah there Layla, are you okay?" Ario asks her

"Ario! I was going to check on why you didn't come to have lunch. What took you so long?"

"I was waiting for you~" He flirts her

Layla gives him an unimpressed look.

"Nice try. Now come have lunch before it gets cold."

Ario agrees and they both walk to the kitchen.

"How's Ori? Did he like the food?"

"Yes, he did!" Layla replies proudly.

"That's great to hear. Maybe I'll start his training today."

"Remember Ario, he is not familiarized with anything in this training. Do not overdo him."

"Fear not. I don't want to make things easy, but I won't force him beyond what he can stand."

They arrive at the kitchen and they spot Ori eagerly awaiting.

"Hi, Layla! Hi, Ario! I wish for more soup please!"

Ario is quite impressed and Layla feels honored.

"Sure thing Ori~"

They spent a good time in the kitchen and soon they were all satisfied.

"So Ori, what do you think of our chef?" Ario asked.

Ori understood chef as the food made by Layla

"I love it! I wish to devour it whole!" He happily licks his lips.

After a few seconds of silence, Ario ends up bursting in laughter, Layla shyly flattered and Ori, confused

"Straight to business, just how I like it!" Ario says laughing out loud

Ori was so confused.

"Stop laughing you stupid!" Layla gets mad.

"Hey Ori, say that again." Ario laughs even more.

"Enough!" Layla grabs Ario's ears and throws him out of the kitchen. He stays laughing from the outside.

Ori feels worried as he doesn't understand why he sounded funny.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Layla calmly explains.

"Chef means a person who makes the food, and not the food itself."

As Ori realizes what he had said he feels embarrassed and shy.

"Worry not Ori, I know that you didn't mean it. Everyone makes mistakes"

"I-a… ahn, I am sorry"

"You're forgiven, now I think Ario is expecting you. Go see him. Do let me know if he treats you badly, so I can give him a kick in the face for punishment."

A few minutes after, Ori and Ario moved to the training room, where he would receive instructions on what he would do.

"Here we are"

The training room was quite a wide and empty room with a few heavy objects to exercise with.

"What will I be doing?" Ori asks.

Ario stretches his arms and legs.

"Firstly, a warm-up. Stretch your arms and legs as I did, and then a few running exercises."

"I can run a lot!" Ori says proudly

"I know you can. But this time, you'll run under certain conditions."

"Conditions?" He asks

"The first one is simple. Thirty laps in this wide room, you do not need to do it quickly. Just go easy, because there is a lot more to come. You ready?"

"Oh, let me stretch first."

Ori gets a good stretch and prepares himself to run the thirty laps.

"I'm ready!"

Ario lifts his arm to wave it like a flag.

"Get ready... Go!"

Ori sprints and does the laps quite quickly. Ario observes him calmly. After the thirty laps, Ori returns to him warmed up and agitated.

"Not bad."

Ori was panting a little bit.

"One thing I'll do, is to draw a line, and you'll run in that line okay? It will be the same as you just did."

Ario draws the line.

"The line is set. You'll do another thirty laps, but following this line the entire time."

"Hmm, okay." Ori says.

'Get ready… Go!"

After easily running another thirty laps following the line, Ori returns to Ario panting a little more.

"It's done! What else Ario?"

Ario notices that Ori has an inappropriate breathing habit

"Now, for your first exercise…"

"Those laps were a warm-up still?" Ori says shocked.

"Why yes, they were. Stay still a moment."

Ario goes to a shelf and picks two anklets.

"You'll do another thirty laps, but you'll wear these anklets. Let me put them on you."

"What those anklets do?" Ori asks

Ario kneels and places the anklets on Ori's legs.

"They make running difficult."

Ori feels an additional weight on his legs thanks to the anklets.

"These should not be too heavy, and yes, it is supposed to be hard. Are you ready?"

"Ahn… I'll try it."

"One more thing Ori, remember to breathe."

Ori gets confused by the tip. He wonders why he said that.

"Then… Run!" Ario shouts out.

Ori goes considerably slower, but it was not so overwhelming.

"Remember to breathe! Run by the line!"

Ori begins to inhale and exhale manually as he runs. Following the line as laps feel much longer and tiresome.

"You're doing good, halfway there. No need to rush, just complete the thirty laps."

Ori was feeling some sort of pain he never felt before on his legs. Could it be tiredness? He wasn't done yet, maybe it's just the weight.

As Ori did his laps, Layla and the others watched him from the window.

"He's doing fine Layla. Let's leave him training." Daruk says.

"I will watch them, to make sure Ario doesn't hurt him. You two can go."

Layla stood her watch over them and Franz and Daruk minded something else.

The training went on and soon as Ori finished his laps…

"Nicely done! Here, have some water."

Ori was tired and gladly took the water, he used that time to rest.

"Will I use the anklets more during the training?"

"Yes, you will." Ario replies.

Ori feels spooked, he imagines how the training may go using the weights.

"Let me take them off of you."

As Ario takes off the anklets, Ori feels much lighter.

"Oh! I feel different!" He moves around.

"Yeah, it's because you grew used to the weight. Now that you're free you feel lighter. Just for a moment though."

He ran for a moment and jumped a few times, but soon he felt normal and really tired.

"Now now, the training is just beginning. Next, you'll use anklets and bracers to weight you down. On sixty laps."

"You kidding right?"

"Nop, I'm dead serious. Rest for now and soon you'll start."

"Will this help me to aid Sein?"

"Are you asking me? You should know the answer."

Ori went silent, he did not know what answer Ario referred.

"All you need to do is if you're willing to keep going, if you are determined to aid Sein on your journey, is to follow my instructions."

Ori then focused and spent a good portion of the day training hard for his promise for Sein. He was tired and all sore from the exercises. Carrying weight is not fun but once they're removed it does feel good. Shortly after he had dinner with the crew and moved into sleep to get ready for the next day. Sleeping alone was a new challenge for him, but one he won't do for much time. He curled up on his new bed and began to sleep.

…

As Ori slept...

"Time to get up!" Ario called Ori.

The rumbling sound of the door slam spooks Ori out of his sleep, but still, he doesn't wish to get up.

"It's still so early…!" Ori said so sleepily.

"Let's go, Ori. You have lots of training for today. Layla is already cooking your breakfast."

"I don't wanna…!" He says whimpering.

"But you do! Come now or I'll drag you there."

"Naaaaa…" The young spirit grumbles in denial.

"Okay then. Time to pull you by the place where hurts the most."

His words scared Ori, still curled up he awaited. "What place…?" He thinks while hiding his tail under him.

"Oh ho, you hid your tail? No matter, I'll pull you by the ears."

"Ow ow ow ow ow! It hurts! Aaaaaaaaaah stop it!"

Ario lets go of his ears.

"Then come, gonna give you five seconds"

"But I-"

"Five…"

"Four…"

Ori kicks the air while laying down on his bed.

"Three…"

"Naaaaaaaaaaaaaa...!"

"Two…"

"One…"

"I am sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy!"

"Hi sleepy, your time is up." Ario grabs Ori's legs and pulls him.

"Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Ori resists by holding onto his bed.

"Let go you stubborn little brat."

"Nevah!"

"Fine, you forced me to this." He lets go of Ori.

Ori curls up yet again and Ario rubs the root of his nose.

"Hey, Layla! Give me that sharp thing."

Ario leaves the bedroom. Ori sweats cold.

"Sharp thing…? What?"

Ario comes back with a scissor.

"Hey, Ori… Did you know that a few reptiles can detach their tails when in distress?" *snip* *snip*.

"And their tails grow back later… Now I wonder if you have such a trait… Shall we discover?"

"No! My tail is not one of a reptile! It is very special to Sein!"

"A~ri~o~" Layla shows up.

"Oh for the love of the light… I was not serious, let me expla-"

Ario gets kicked and slammed on the wall.

"Come, Ori. I've cooked a new meal for you."

Layla picks Ori up with love and care. He does not resist her and lets himself get carried.

Franz arrives in the room.

"Yo captain, a nice wall you got there eh?"

Ario laughs for a moment.

"The boy has his priorities straight! I'll give him that"

"He is a clever boy, aye. He likes Layla more than you squork." Franz giggles

"Listen here you miserable Kako bird…"

"Don't call me Kako! Ah yes, I wish to ask you, what are your plans for the days ahead?"

"I need some days to focus on Ori. We are not leaving Nibel yet, so, have a few days off."

"Aye aye captain."

After a while, Ario and Ori went to the training room.

"Ready for today's exercise?"

"Yes!" He replies hyped up

"Good to see you excited. Because today you will need that hype."

"What are we going to do? More runs with weights?"

"Nop, today you will practice with the sword."

"Really?!" Ori asked, surprised.

"Yes, you'll use this wooden sword. It's far lighter than the one made of steel."

Ori holds the wooden sword and notices it is not as heavy as the other sword.

"Your training is very simple once again. What you'll do now is one thousand vertical swings."

"One thousand!?" Ori said scared

"Yes, like this."

Ario demonstrates how to do a balanced vertical swing. "This will be a new workout for you, and it will exercise your upper body. When you do one swing, you'll step forward doing a lunge, this will have a great deal for your core, back, chest, shoulders and arms muscles.

"Other exercises, such as footwork, side steps, and an active balance will work out your lower body, all to swing the sword effectively, in any situation.

"Now it's your turn. Do one thousand swings without pauses. If you do pause, you'll redo another one thousand swings."

"But I think I can't do one thousand." Ori confesses

"There's only one way to find out. You may begin."

Denying the task a little, Ori had to swallow up the annoyance and just focus on doing the one thousand swings as he saw.

"Okay then! So be it! I'm gonna do it! Just watch!"

Ario watches his struggles to begin amused.

"Well, don't just stay there grumbling, and do begin swinging."

And so he began, Ori counted loud and clear each swing to know how many swings he did so far.

"Twenty!"

"Thirty!"

"Forty!"

The counting goes on. In some minutes, he reached one hundred swings.

"Keep it up." Ario bolsters him.

"One hundred and twenty!"

"One hundred and thirty!"

Ori sweats and his arms tire. Each swing becomes a little more difficult to do. Another couple of minutes go by.

"Two hundred and forty!"

Ori was losing his posture and panting a lot.

"Straight back! Head up! Shoulders aligned! Remember that your posture has a great influence."

Ori follows as ordered, he regains his posture and pants heavily.

"Nice, a good posture will aid you. Also, remember to breathe."

Once again, Ori did not understand the reason for that tip

"What… do you mean by breathing? I am breathing all the time."

"No, you're not. You think you are but you're not."

Ori stares at Ario, halting his swings for a moment.

"When you focus on doing something, like your exercises, you put too much thought on it, and thus you forget to breathe. You need to relax a little but concentrate on both finishing the training correctly and breathing. Do you get what I mean?"

"I forget to breathe?" Ori repeats

"One of the reasons for the task getting difficult is because you lack oxygen on your bloodstream. If you could breathe and relax more, you'd be surprised by how easier one thousand swings would turn out.

"Of course," Ario adds. "breathing is just one thing, we can't forget we all have limits and our stamina is not infinite. Breathing is now also part of your training, so do keep that in mind. With a good supply of oxygen, you will be able to move much better and faster. Also, it will take twice as long for you to get tired."

Ori listens and considers. He takes a few deep breaths and feels a little better. As he relaxes he continues his swings.

"Oi, did you notice that you paused there?" Ario asks with a grim smile.

Ori feels so incredibly annoyed.

"No, don't do this to me."

"Rules are rules~" Ario says playfully

"I am not redoing everything! You distracted me!"

"Okay, you have a point. I'll let it slide this time. You may continue from where you were."

Ori grunts

"Hey, don't grunt at me and continue your swings. Come on."

That small pause allowed him to continue for a little longer. When he reached four hundred swings he felt so weak already.

"Ario… I can't go on"

"Woah, just four hundred swings? Do a little more! I know you can do it!"

Whimpering a little he worked hard to proceed to do a few more swings, reaching four hundred and two completed swings.

"My arms are going to fall off…"

Ario places one hand on Ori's shoulder

"You did well. Give yourself a rest."

Ori gives the wooden sword to Ario and sits down. Stretching his arms around trying to ease the sore pain.

"All those swings… I won't be able to do one thousand"

"Don't cut yourself short, it was just your first try. You have to train for much longer for you to be able to reach that amount or even higher."

"I barely can lift my arms…"

"The pain is temporary, the gain is eternal."

"Speaking of pain," Ario added. "are your legs still sore?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you could do a few runs with weights."

"Oh no…" Ori lays down on his belly

Ario chuckles.

"You can still walk right?"

"I'm going to die…"

"It's for your mass gain. To increase the strength of your muscles."

"My muscles are dead."

Ario chuckles a little more

"Fine, I'll be nice to you and give you a break for today. Tomorrow we can continue."

"Ario, let me ask you: how are the final exercises going to look like?"

"Since you asked, allow me to share my plans so far. There will be a combat simulation, you will battle me to get familiarized to real-time combat. There will also be chase simulations, so the running exercises will come in handy when you need to chase or run from something, while battling or simply opening the way. And for the final test. you'll need to cut a very hard rock with your Spirit Edge."

"I want to do light-bending training."

"Easy there, when you complete the physical training, how to create, and attack with a sword of light and cut the rock. You and I are going to journey to a very dangerous place."

"I remember you saying it, but why a dangerous place?"

"It will be the real thing, where you'll put your skills to the test. If you wish to impress Sein."

Ori stays silent slightly worried

"I'm going with you so you won't get lost, but know the challenge you have to surpass it yourself. Do remember that."

"What am I going to do there? Fight a monster?"

"I will tell you later, and no your mission is not to fight a monster, but you might fight one."

Ori falls in silence. Ario lets an out small sigh

"Our time together is short Ori. When Sein wakes up, we won't train anymore."

Ori raises to sit and to look at Ario.

"...Why?"

"Just believe in my words. If you want to make that change, I recommend focusing all you can on that now. And look, a full training should take whole years to be completed. The large hard rock I mentioned? Honestly, you won't be able to cut it without years of practice. So, I am speeding things up a lot. The plans I shared are not confirmed and we may not even do half of what I said."

They fall silent for a few seconds.

"Will I be able to complete the light-bending training?"

"Perhaps."

Ario begins to leave the training room.

"Sorry for the emotional speech, I don't know how much I can teach you, but I will do my best. It falls upon you, to keep the promise you created for yourself."

Ori is left alone in the training room. As the training is over for the day he gets up lost in thoughts. He walks by Franz and Daruk, who greet the young spirit, but Ori was so immersed in his thoughts he did not greet back. He goes to Ario's room to see Sein, the wisp of Peace and Serenity.

"Hi, Sein…" Ori sits close to her.

"How are you doing?" He asks her.

"..."

"Did you know that Ario had this huge ship?"

"..."

"I am going through training now. I will be stronger to be able to help you as you helped me. Wish you could heal this sore pain of mine."

The wisp glows with a very faint light just like before. Deeply slumbering in the infinite world of dreams.

"Hey, Sein… Are you dreaming right now?"

"..."

"I am here with you okay? Sleep well."

Ori lays down and pulls her closer, hugging her and joining her in their sleep.

…

On the ship's deck…

"Oi Ario!" Franz calls him. "What happened to the little glowy ears? He was sad as heck."

Ario was sitting on an edge of the ship painting the clouds and land below on a canvas.

"Leave him be Franz. We all find these types of moments. Soon he'll recover."

"Did you say something to him? You did aye?"

"I said to him our time together may be limited. He will have to make difficult choices and I can't help him. Nobody can."

"But what about making him part of the crew? Won't the wisp allow it? Because if he joined us you could look after him for as long you want. He would join us right?"

Ario takes a moment to reply

"I can't give you an answer. Ori has his own story. If he decides to share his tale with us, I won't stop him. It will be his decision"

"It is not cool to leave a kid to do that type of choice. He needs guidance, he needs a family, he needs you as a brother."

Ario feels angry and turns to face Franz.

"No Franz. I am not his brother and I have no right to be called one. More than that, we know very little about Ori and remember that he is special to Sein, the wisp of Nibel. We can't force him to go with us. Sein is kind but we can't go deciding stuff without her consent..." Ario pauses.

"Oi oi oi, calm down. I just wanted to help the boy, that's all. The training doesn't have her consent, does it? Are you really scared of what the wisp thinks about all this? Isn't she like, the kindest among the seven sisters?"

"Never mind it, Franz."

"Never have seen you so weird Ario. Hope you get better soon."

"Thanks for the consideration. Have a good night."

"To you as well squork."

…

The next morning…

Ori wakes up peacefully. Ario did not come to wake him that early in the morning. He slept with Sein and as soon he remembered the training, he got up.

"Goodbye for now Sein. I'll return soon."

Ori goes to the ship's deck and greets everyone except for Ario that was not around. It was almost noon and he had his lunch together with Layla. After that, he searched for Ario, since Ori slept in their room he wondered if he could be in that larger bedroom that Ori once slept one night. He decided to check there.

Ori knocks on the door.

"Ario? Are you there?"

*No response*

Ori opens the door and the bedroom is empty. Ario is not here.

"Where could he be?"

Ori went to the training room. He wasn't there as well.

Ori visits Layla and asks for help. She agrees to help and finds the captain shortly after. He is found sitting alone on the ship's prow. Layla gives privacy to Ori to talk to Ario.

"Ario!" Ori calls him.

Ario looks back and greets the young spirit.

"Oh, hey Ori. Sorry for not calling you to train today. I was a bit immersed in a few things"

"Is something wrong?" Ori asks him.

Ario stands up and comes closer to Ori.

"Nah, I'm fine. Let's not keep you waiting. Let's train, shall we?"

Ori notices that something is bothering Ario, but does not question it to avoid disturbing him. They move to the training room and Ori practice for a great amount of time. The exercises mixed a bit of sword and running training. When night time arrived Ori slept with Sein in Ario's room once more.

…

The next morning...

Ario opens the door of his own room who was now always occupied with Ori and Sein.

"You. Up. Now."

Ario seemed pissed that he lost his room to a guest, so Ori quickly awakened earlier than usual.

"No offense, but why don't you take Sein and sleep in your room?"

"Because she was very comfy already so I did not want to disturb her" Ori replies in a low tone.

"Aw, so loving… You're a good kid. But for this night you'll take her to your room okay? Because this one is mine."

"Okay." Ori replies

"Now go eat your breakfast. See you in the training room."

Once in the training room...

"What will it be today?" Ori asks

"Pain and suffering." Ario replies

"Eh?" Ori puts his guard up scared.

"Relax, I am just joking."

Ori relaxes.

"Today there won't be exercises…"

"No exercises!? Yay!".

"...But there's a challenge."

Ori stops celebrating.

"If you manage to do it, for your reward you may skip the physical training and start the light-bending one."

"Really?" Ori was seduced by the reward.

Layla reveals herself. "Hi, Ori~"

"Oh hi, Layla!" Ori greets her

"Ahem" Ario coughs. "The challenge is the following: Ori must defend Layla from an attack of mine."

"What? No! Don't hit her!" Ori pleads

"So cute~" Layla places one hand on her cheek

"Then defend her. That's what you're gonna do. This will be some practice for you to understand how to predict your opponent. Do keep in mind that every opponent is different, so let me see how you adapt in combat while doing this task.

"Layla here accepted to be our guest and won't defend herself from me. You have infinite tries so don't worry about me hitting her over and over. Hehehehe."

"Ario please, go easy okay?" Layla feels slightly pissed.

"Are you ready Ori? If you manage to make me unable to hit her by defending my attack or by attacking me yourself, you win. Get your sword."

Equipped with a wooden sword and Ario with another, Ori stands in front of Layla and Ario at some distance.

"Well then. Here I come."

Ori assumed a protective sword stance and Ario began charging.

Ori had difficulty understanding his movements, he jumped from left to right very quickly and fast approaching.

*Bonk*

Ario hits Layla on the head

"Ow!" Layla puts her hands over the area hit

"Sorry, Layla!" Ori apologizes.

"Let's try it again. Oh but I am enjoying it"

Ori gets more serious and prepares himself.

"Here I come."

Once again it's very confusing to guess from where he will attack. Ori this time gets in his way but Ario jumps to the side and reaches Layla again.

*Bonk*

Another hit. Layla suffers in pain.

"I am not liking this training any longer. Can't you draw a dummy to hit instead?" Layla asks

"But you hold more value than a lifeless dummy, Layla. If you get what I mean."

Layla feels flattered but still slightly pissed from the bonks.

"Aww~"

"I will stop him this time Layla, I promise!" Ori gets even more serious

"One more time, come on." Ario goes to his position

Ori stays ready.

"Here I come!"

Ori charges at this time, advancing to stop Ario before he gets too close.

As Ario went forward he noticed Ori making a new strategy…

"He plans to stop me before getting too close, but what if I evade him like before?"

When the two would clash, Ario side steps and evades Ori.

"Too easy my guy."

Ario leaves Ori behind him and rushes to Layla. Suddenly…

*Bonk*

Ori gets a clear hit on Ario.

Ario gets a shocked expression by the surprise.

"Got you!" Ori holds himself on Ario's shoulders.

"How did you move so fast?" Ario asked.

"I knew you would not look behind you, so you let your guard down. I just jumped twice and went straight to you!" He replies so proudly.

Ario sighs quite impressed, he admits defeat.

"Well, you passed Ori. You do have some good movement. I think Sein surely did a great job so far"

"I'm happy for you, Ori." Layla shows her enthusiasm. "As for you Ario, you deserve a kick in the face for not holding back on the hits." She glows in orange energy.

Ori cuddles on Ario, feeling content, and trying to protect him from Layla.

"Aw… I'm jealous now" Layla confess. "Very well then, I can forgive you Ario."

Ario breathes relieved.

"Thanks, Ori." he pets the young spirit.

"You earned your rest, but the day is not over yet. What do you say to start your light-bending training hm?"

"Yes! I would love to!"

"Good to hear."

"How is it gonna be? Does it include physical training too?"

"It kinda does, but it is not dependent on your body, but of your mind."

"Oh, I can give some tips on how to conjure light and manipulate it." Layla says.

"Would be lovely." Ario adds the idea. "Now go play around and soon we return to begin your new training."

In rejoice, Ori darts out of the training room. He runs past Daruk and Franz and goes to Sein.

Ori enters Ario's room and glances at all paintings around and then he focuses on his objective.

"Sein! I will finally start to train light-bending!"

The wisp of Nibel stood quiet in her slumber, with a few noticeable healed effects.

"Hey, there are fewer cracks on you…" Ori picks Sein up.

"You're healing!" He spins with Sein in hands.

So much joy for a single moment that Ori stumbles and drops Sein. His fall causes the paintings in display to fall from their shelves. Sein rolled away and was now covered in paintings.

Ori gets up worried about the mess he just caused, and most importantly, he had to find Sein under the paintings.

Very carefully, Ori took one painting at a time and placed them on their shelves, avoiding damaging the canvas.

Each painting clearly could tell a story. What inspired Ario to paint them? Ori wondered and went on with his task, being very meticulous with every canvas, also looking at them for a moment to appreciate the art.

Until one point, he got one painting that greatly pulled his interest, it showed two nibelian spirits. Both males, one much older than the other. Ori noticed that the two spirits had different characteristics in their appearances, but the young one, it looked like Ario…

"Ori?" Ario shows up.

Ori stays silent, expecting to be grounded.

"Hm, I heard that fall and came here to check on you. Looks like you made a mess."

Ario notices the painting in Ori's hands.

"You got a very special painting there my guy."

"I'm sorry, it's not damaged or anything."

"It's fine, accidents happen. Is Sein under the paintings?"

Ori nods.

"Okay, let me help you."

Ori lifts the special painting.

"Ario, is that you?" Ori points to the young spirit in the picture.

Ario takes a deep breath.

"Yes, that's me."

"Who is this other spirit at your side?"

"That is Yali, my elder brother"

"Oh, you have a brother! But you said-"

"I know what I said that it is a personal choice to have siblings. You may call one as a brother, but that doesn't mean one will call you back like that. I know."

"So, about Yali, how is he your brother?" Ori asks

"Because he welcomed me, when I was alone." Ario's words feel sadder.

"Aw, that's so sweet of him. I bet you had lots of fun together."

"Yeah, he was a hero… Until that day arrived…"

"Did something happen?" Ori asks with an air of worry.

"Nothing really." Ario tries to evade the question

"Oh, that's a relief, but where is your brother? Shouldn't he be here with you?"

Ario fails to hide the sorrow. He covers his eyes

"I wish…"

"Ario?" Ori knew something was not right.

Ario quickly manages to calm down.

"I'm fine Ori. It's a bit difficult to talk about it. My brother went on a journey, and I travel the world searching for him. In the hope to find him, somewhere… in this vast world."

Ori feels interested in knowing the story. Ario said once that he was not feeling like telling it, maybe now he would tell it? Ori wondered again but he showed signs of sadness when mentioning the subject. Either way, Ori went on and said it.

"I want to hear the story Ario!"

Ario thinks for a moment to answer him. Giving the young spirit a smile of gratitude, Ario replied:

"Forgive me, Ori. Maybe another time"

"Pretty please?" Ori waggles his ears.

"Not this time, sorry." Ario gives a soft poke on Ori's forehead.

Quite disappointed, Ori stopped insisting. Silence soon fell between them as they reorganized the paintings. They finally found Sein and tidied up the room.

"There we go, now take Sein to your room. Come on."

"Oh, look Ario! Sein has fewer cracks!"

"That's great Ori, she will heal very soon."

"Do you think she can hear us while sleeping?" Ori asked

A strange question, Ario thought so.

"I don't know, maybe she can."

Ori feels restless. The mourn Ario had for his missing brother was very uncomfortable to see. As soon Ario turned away to leave the room, Ori held his hand.

"You miss your brother... don't you?"

Ario faces Ori and takes a moment to answer.

"Yes, I do."

"I'm sorry, Ario… When Sein wakes up, I'll ask her if she knows anything about where Yali could be."

The sight of the young spirit showing sympathy for him was like a drop of faith calming a raging ocean.

Ario pats Ori in a sign of acknowledgment.

"I thank your help, my guy."

Ario seemed happier, but not enough as Ori would like, he tries to give more hope for Ario.

"Sein is very clever and knows many things. I know she will have a solution for you."

Ario faces away and begins to leave the room, he stops for a moment.

"Indeed…" Ario takes a deep breath. "Now, let's begin your new training Ori. Remember that our time is short."

"Okay! I'm going with you."

Ori places Sein back on her pillow.

"See you soon, Sein"

As the moment for Sein to awake gets closer, Ori feels focused and proud to be able to impress her with something. He goes with Ario to the next step of his training.


	14. The Spirit Edge

Ario and Ori go to the ship's deck. The crew is already there and awaiting something.

The crew greets the young spirit and Ario shares more information about the training.

"Are you ready Ori?"

"Yes, what it gonna be?"

"Remember that I said it would be a training of your mind?"

"Yes, but whats does that mean?

"It means that you need to focus"

Ori seemed confused.

"Essentially, the light bending training is very simple, you just need to imagine a sword made of light on your hands and that's it."

Ori stood quiet, listening with interest.

"You will sit here on this X mark." Ario draws an X on the floor. "As I said, it's easier than you think, just sit here and focus. Imagine a sword made of light on your hands"

"Okay." Ori goes to the X mark.

Ori found the crew standing still around pretty suspicious.

"Hey guys, what are you all doing?" He asked the crew

"We are here to cheer for you!" Layla replies

Franz and Daruk nod in response. Ario speaks up.

"Don't mind them, Ori. The important part here is you, to focus with all your might in this training. A tip I can give you is: don't try to control the light around you, that is very difficult to do. Rather, focus on the light within you, it's far easier and you won't need to rely on the environment to light-bend.

"To make the light inside you obey your wish, we will need to go slow, this may be very tiring and your physical form also affects the amount of light that you contain inside you.

"As I said before, imagine the spirit edge on your hands, try to focus the light inside you manifesting on your hands and forming the shape of the weapon. Once you manage to do it, training to use it will come soon after."

Ori got a good idea of how to do it. He remembers the image of Kuro crushing Sein and turns the painful memory into determination.

"I got it. I wish to begin."

"Oh, I see you got inspiration, it certainly helps!" Ario comments.

Ori sits down on the X mark, taking a deep breath.

"Now I just need to concentrate on creating a sword using my light, right?"

"Correct," Ario replies. "One more thing Ori…"

Ario crouches in front of Ori

"What do you think Sein would say if you used your knowledge to hurt as Kuro does?"

Ori gathers thoughts for a moment and is unable to reply to such a question. Ario smiles and pets Ori.

"I know you're better than that, you just proved it. Just keep it in mind okay?"

Ario stands back up. "Okay, let's begin. Now it's up to you Ori, focus on creating the Spirit Edge."

Ori nods and closes his eyes to concentrate...

Ario does a sign for the crew and one special to Daruk. Layla and Franz make way for the Jotun.

Silence envelops Ori as he delves in his world, searching for the way to manipulate the light within himself. It feels like he is swimming in a dark place, dark waters surround him but do not drown him. He gets used to breathing underwater, he remembers that silly moment he had with Sein on the clean waters of the Thornfelt Swamp and rejoices a little.

In this unfamiliar world of his mind, Ori swims around searching for anything that would lead him to the path of Light-bending…

"...Ori" A voice called in the dark subaquatic world.

The voice was not one Ori heard before, it sounded like a spirit…

A blink shines in the darkness for a moment and vanishes. Ori tries to swim in the shine's direction but soon is surprised to be being pulled away by a strong sea current. Disturbance hurts his concentration as he wakes up to the most annoying sound.

Daruk was loud snoring at Ori's side.

Ori could not believe it. "Why in the world is he sleeping here?"

"Daruk?" The young spirit calls annoyed.

"Can't you sleep elsewhere? Go sleep in your bed!"

Ori stands up and leaves the X mark.

"Hey! Wake up!" Ori pushes the great Jotun, barely moving its body and not getting results in stopping the loud snores.

"Stop snoring!" He shouts out.

Daruk still sleeps deeply.

"Hey!" Ori shouts annoyed.

"Hello, Ori!" Ario comes closer.

Due to the loud snoring, they have to speak louder to hear each other.

"Ario, help me get Daruk away from here, he is disturbing me!"

"You have to deal with it! It is part of your training!"

"What?! How can this be my training?!"

"I know you can do it! I believe in you! You just have to focus and nothing will bother you!"

Ario retreats and leaves Ori and Daruk behind.

"No way… How can I focus with this noisy creature..."

Ori thinks about going elsewhere if Daruk wasn't going to move. He goes away where there would nobody around.

"Hey!" Ario pulled his attention. "You must remain on the X mark!"

"But I can't-"

"No excuses!" Ario points to the mark, telling Ori to get back there.

Ori feels so annoyed he covers his face with his hands. He takes a deep breath and goes back to the mark grumbling.

Once there again, the snores are terrible as usual. Ori sits on the mark and closes his eyes…

*Snore* He could see nothing like last time. *Snore* Ori wasn't concentrating at all. At each snore, a little of his patience flew away through the window.

*Snore*

"Daruk, please! Sleep quietly!" Ori pleads.

*Snore*

"Are all of your kind so loud like you?!"

*Snore*

"I give up trying to talk to you!"

Ori grunts and just try to focus on his task. Perseverance was required if Ori would want to complete this training. At each loud snore, it would regress any progress Ori had. After a while, Ori managed to calm down, but the snores still disturbed his focus.

One, two, three hours went by. Ori was feeling calmer at each failed attempt. His ears tilt at the sonar waves of the sleeping Jotun. He still can hear the sleeping creature, he decides to cut the existence of Daruk out of his mind for a moment. The sound becomes more distant…

*Ear tilt*

Almost not hearing it at all. But Ori could detect the sound like vibrating sonar waves, he could not control his ear tilts.

*Ear tilt*

Anger started to build, impatience and stress were great but Ori tried to keep calm and concentrate.

*Ear tilt*

Ori was almost losing his hard-worked patience. Hours of failed attempts, soon to be wasted.

*Ear tilt*

Now frowning, Ori had a hard time to regain his patience. He began hearing the snores loud and clear again and then, he opened his eyes disappointed. All that time of concentration for nothing...

Ori lays down under the clear day skies, wondering if he had to delve in an imaginary world. Maybe he could do it, without all the focusing method? He discards the idea, can't be possible to do a focus task without focusing. He heard a voice in that strange place… what was that all about?

"How is it possible to do it with Daruk being so noisy?" He questioned.

Nothing may answer his question, because of that Ori just laid there and stood quiet gazing the blue skies. Thoughts and memories started to flood his mind, random knowledge and simple facts like "water make things wet" makes him a little happier and less stressed about Daruk.

In a few minutes, Ori began to relax... he remembers more moments he had with Naru, his mother, and what she always used to do to calm him. Every time she hugged him… it seemed like she simply swiped away all troubles and only lets peace enter his mind. Every time her arms enveloped him, every time she carried him it soothed his thoughts, and every time he could hear her heartbeats so clearly, it was so relaxing for some reason, it always induced him for the most blissful naps of his life.

Sein is the wisp of peace, he remembers, going on with the flow of thoughts. How does she have this title if she can easily get angry? What usually she does to calm down? Searching through memories, he thinks… has Sein ever really gotten angry? The only thing close to what anger was visible in her was when they dealt with the creatures of decay in the Forlorn Ruins.

"What is to be at peace?"

He wonders even further, trying to understand the question he just made. Is it just a state of mind? Where we have no disturbances, where only freedom and tranquility reign in one's soul? Yes, quite possibly it had to be the answer. Yet something still is amiss, what could it be.

Ori watches Daruk loud snoring right next to him and analyzes… Daruk is in peace, to be asleep like that one must be at peace, so, Ori thinks in sleeping too. Upon closing his eyes, he noticed not getting disturbed by the snores. Could it be? Expectation began increasing. No, better remain calm, getting agitated won't help in anything.

Ori wanted to stop the flow of thoughts, he wanted to reach peace of mind… As he remained quiet trying to sleep he noticed everything becoming soundless. He wasn't asleep just yet, but it feels like he is, this is fascinating to him.

Ori then thinks solely in his training, without letting any other thought get in the way. He imagines his light manifest as a blade that he wields. Going from just holding it to swinging it around and performing attacks that he never trained how to do.

Ori reached a perfect state of focus. No sound could bother him.

Ori opened his eyes, he just managed to hit that perfect state. He sits down and closes his eyes again. If he did it once, so could do it again.

The loud snores felt like inexistent. Ori found the answer he needed to reach peace. He focuses more than he ever did, thinking in creating the Spirit Edge. The shape of the weapon, its size, its appearance. Everything was aligning, now only summoning the weapon was left.

Ori takes a series of deep breaths. This was the moment.

Frowning, Ori could feel his energy surging in his hands. His focus was perfected and the light began answering him. It began taking shape of a simple orb, then, it stretched and turned to a cylinder-like shape. Ori went on… Almost succeeding in summoning the Spirit Edge.

Ario and others watched them from afar.

"Oh look at that, the light is already answering him." Ario comments.

"Yeah, seems like all is coming together." Layla says hopefully.

"Hm, I don't know much, but how the light inside can be controlled like that?" Franz asks.

Layla explains.

"All spirits contain the light of our creators, the Spirit Trees, and the wisps that rests on it. It is our life energy and it is possible to manipulate it and use it to defend ourselves. We just need to focus and the light naturally answers.

"By controlling the light, we spend it on many different types of tasks and we grow tired the more we use it. As our life energy, we must not overdo ourselves, one good thing about using our life energy is that it always recharge after resting. It is completely balanced for our life-styles."

Franz wonders…

"So, when Ario shoots arrows, said arrows are his life energy being shot?"

"It is," Ario answers. "but don't think that is my life energy that it won't hurt. Light is as harmful as darkness."

"But the light can also heal right?" Franz goes on with questions.

"It can. But it is a very rare type of ability that a spirit can develop. Usually, light-bending, as any other element, is often oriented to defensive, offensive and movement abilities, and very rarely to healing."

"Then only wisps have healing powers most of the time?"

"Yes, their powers give them a wide range of options for what they can do."

"I see. Wisps also have weaknesses don't they?"

"By weaknesses, I believe only when they don't have their Spirit Tree at their disposal. Say, for example, when it dies from old age."

"Those trees die of old age?!"

"Of course, except for the wisps, everything that lives dies one day. Spirit Trees just have a larger life span, so it takes a long time for a wisp to become vulnerable."

"But what do they do? They need their trees right?"

"They do," Layla replies. "the union of a Spirit Tree and a wisp is what grants balance on the forests. Once a wisp finds itself vulnerable, they call upon a spirit titled as 'chosen'. That chosen spirit is the one that will join with the wisp and be reborn as a new Spirit Tree. It is a ritual called 'The Will of the Wisps', something sacred and necessary."

"And sickening…" Ario said in a low tone.

"So it is a sacrifice?" Franz feels worried. "Ario, you believe the little glowy ears could be Sein's next chosen?"

"What?" Layla asks surprised.

"It's very possible," Ario answers. "but we are speaking about Sein, the embodiment of kindness of Sei. You guys don't know how much she suffered to take my-, one life for the greater good. She won't be able to do it again.

"Why I say this? Because I know her very well. Ori and I are the last spirits of Nibel and she has a bond with both of us. Do you think she can cut our bonds because her duty demands? No, she simply will do that no longer, even when new spirits arise on Nibel, she won't do it."

"You're saying that Sein can't do it out of love?" Layla asks.

"Precisely, Sein is the only wisp that lets her emotions take over. And that is what makes her so great.

"She is the only that hated her duty because of her empathy. She could not bear the weight of taking one life, she hated and hated it deeply. Because of that, she seeks to find some other way to protect, she seeks to break the original cycle and yet give it a new meaning.

"Another interesting thing to say is that I've met all sisters, and by what I could observe, not all of them develop bonds for their inhabitants. Only the wisps of love, beauty, ingenuity, and peace, are friendly with those who approach."

"Following that order for names, we have Seid, Seip, Seil, and Sein. Seil is the wisp of my homeland!" Layla says.

"Wow, that's a lot of grubs to peck." Franz comments.

Ario chuckles.

"Indeed it is… The future is dreadful, but I will aid Sein to make the difference."

"Hey guys, look!" Layla points out to Ori.

Upon focusing Ario rejoices.

Ori was holding a blade made of light and blue flames, the spirit edge. He lifts the blade and stares at it enchanted. It's so lightweight that he does a few swings around.

"Congrats, Ori! I knew you would do it." Layla arrives celebrating.

"Ey, nice job glowy ears. I always knew you had a sharp talent."

Ori chats for a moment with them, having a moment of fun and soon desires to show his achievement to Ario. In a moment, Ario appears snapping his fingers to wake Daruk up and joins the conversation.

"Amazing work Ori! How are you feeling?"

Ori returns to stare to the spirit edge.

"I feel amazing..." He replies so proudly.

Daruk gets up and stretches doing a big yawn.

"Greeting everyone. I just had a nice nap, what did I miss?"

"I summoned the spirit edge!" Ori displays the blade.

Daruk gets surprised by the blade's appearance.

"Oh my," Daruk approaches to analyze the blade. "this blade has unique proportions. Spirits of Altum usually have shorter and curved blades, but this is a very different one from what I've seen, a long single-edged blade with blue flames? Impressive!"

Ori feels flattered and curious.

"The blue flames come from Sein's light," Ario observes. "I have never seen this before..."

"Is it bad?" Ori asks.

"Not sure, but it means you are special to Sein. Or maybe because you ate too much of her light, who knows!" Ario laughs

Ori feels embarrassed for a moment. "So that's why I felt my temperature rising as I tried to control the light…"

"Hm, interesting observation. You didn't feel like burning, did you?"

"No, but my hands were very hot as I tried to summon the spirit edge"

"Fascinating. You may need to watch that when light-bending, as you can control Sein's flames, you can also burn yourself in it. More practice will be necessary, so get ready."

"Hey Ario, how can I dismiss the sword? Can I summon it again later?"

"Of course you can summon it back, just focus as you did earlier. To guard the weapon, simply let go of it and the light will return to you"

"Hey Ori, a few words of wisdom," Layla pulls his attention. "this sword is part of you, because of that, you won't ever worry about losing it or need to repair it.

"One more thing, when you focus, the light will obey you but do remember, at each second you wield the sword a little bit of your stamina is drained. If you end up tired, the sword will vanish and you will need to rest."

"I understand. Thanks, Layla"

"You're welcome~"

Ori lets go of the blade and its form dissipates, he then focuses again and the blade reforms itself back.

"Glowy ears, let me see dat blade. How sharp is it?"

"I don't know?"

"Bah! Let me touch it!"

"Franz, don't do it. The blade has flames on it." Daruk warns.

"Then, let's do it like this…"

Franz takes out one of his feathers and takes it to the sword, the feather burns before reaching the blade. Franz doesn't release the feather and the flames spread onto him.

"Oh no, oof! Ah! Yeah, I got it, fire is hot. In fact… TOO HOT!"

Franz goes around screaming and flapping his wings.

"Hmm… What do you say of cooked Kako for dinner Layla?" Daruk suggests

"What can I say? I don't even need to cook it, I'm in."

"YOU GUYS ARE EVIL! I AM MUCH BETTER THAN A KAKO!"

Franz zooms from one side to the other burning. Ori has fun seeing the humorous bird.

"OI! THIS IS SERIOUS!" He begins screeching

As they enjoy themselves, Ario observes Ori chatting with the crew, and just for a moment, he sees a glimpse of Yali, his elder brother on him. A slight sorrow fills his mind and memories appear before him.

He feels a slight nudge and sees the young spirit calling to him.

"Hey, Ario."

"Yes?"

"Can you help us with Franz? He tried to touch my blade and got himself like that." Ori points to Franz

"Ah, this a good timing. Careful with that sword, don't burn my ship okay?"

Ori lets go of the spirit edge.

"Nice, now let's save a bird from being cooked."

Ario draws a bucket.

"Daruk." Ario shows the bucket

Daruk knows what to do and hums a melody, winds gather in the bucket and create ice within it.

"Layla."

Layla uses her ignition to melt the ice.

"Franz…"

"Ah, don't worry about me! The flames make my feathers smoother and warmer! I always wanted to be a phoenix!"

Ario spills the water over the semi-cooked bird and puts out the fire

"Thank you, captain…" Franz faints.

"He'll be alright?" Ori asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about him. When he wakes up-"

"No Kako bird for dinner tonight you fools!" Franz thinks for a moment. "Don't call me Kako!" He faints again.

Everyone laughs at the moment. Ori then remembers to visit someone and wastes no time.

"There he goes." Layla says.

"Hope he doesn't burn my paintings or my ship. I'd be very upset."

Upon arriving on the bedroom, Sein appears with even fewer cracks and her light glows a little stronger.

"Hi, Sein!" Ori greets her enthusiastically.

"I did it! I managed to complete my training!" He summons the spirit edge a bit careless.

"Oh, gotta be careful. Don't want to set anything aflame in here."

He guards the spirit edge and sits by her side.

"Can't wait for you to see it. It has something I got from you!"

Ori notices that Sein healed a little more. He feels a little melancholy by her current state.

"How many days have been since…" Ori doesn't feel like talking about that moment. He changes the topic.

"Will I be able to aid you now? In any way?"

The gentle light of Sein shines a little bit.

Curious, Ori picks Sein up, staring at her…

"Would you, like to sleep wrapped in my tail?"

Sein's light shines again. Seemed like she reacted to the question.

"Sein? Are you awake?"

She shows no reactions this time. Ori got confused as for a moment he thought she was awake. He places her back on her pillow.

"I wonder, what you could be dreaming about right now…"

And so he goes into a small journey of thoughts about what she could be dreaming about. As he watches her sleep the time goes by... Sleep soon catches up and he feels like laying and curl up around her as usual. Before doing that, a knock comes from the door.

"Hey there," Ario shows up. "before you sleep, do you want to eat anything?"

"I am not hungry." Ori replies.

"I see. How's Sein?"

"She is looking much better. She was shining a moment ago."

"Shining you say? Interesting..."

Ario moves one hand under his chin, thinking for a moment...

"The time for her awakening is very close. We gotta speed up our training Ori."

"We do?" Ori asks.

Ario nods.

"Yeah, we still have that little adventure of ours to do remember?"

"Oh yes, I am not sure if I am comfortable with that adventure…"

"Relax, I am going with you. So, erase any worries about losing a limb."

Ori shivers with those words. "Okay…" Ori says timidly, worried about that little adventure.

"Anyways, grab Sein and move her to your room. This night I wish to sleep in my bed."

Ario pets Ori as he moves to his room.

"Good night my guy. Tomorrow we'll have more things to do!"

Ori says goodbye for now and goes to his bedroom with Sein. Once there, nothing could stop him from curling up around her and enjoying a night of sleep, eagerly awaiting her awakening.

…

The next morning…

The sound of agitation and loud speech awakens Ori. Curious about what may be causing it, he cuddles on Sein one more time and gets up.

Upon finding the crew members, Ori spies on them to see what they're doing.

They were just operating the ship. Seemed like the Zephyr was in a greater movement than the previous days, the crew had an objective and heading somewhere. Ario was chatting with Franz.

"How are you doing Franz?" Ario asks

"Me? bah, I never felt so good! I have just been reborn by the ashes of my old self."

"I fear the flames may have burned your brain old friend. In any case, I need you to operate the ship, okay?"

"Aye, you can always count of me, Franz the Phoenix! Flying is what I do!" Franz does a pose spreading his wings.

Ario just goes with the current. "That sounds great, call me if you need anything. Just one question, do you remember where we are headed?"

Daruk was carrying barrels and going somewhere, Ori follows him quietly and arrives into a room with a forge and few machines, 'the engine' so they called, this machinery is what makes the ship fly. Daruk pours some kind of liquid on the forge and starts to mess with other things. Ori goes back to see where Layla could be.

Layla is found in the training room all by herself. Practicing stylish kicks and fancy combat movement, her fight-style involves kicks only? Ori gets curious, and he wasn't spotted by anyone so far. He feels like he has the talent to be sneaky.

Or so he thought.

"Hey, there" Ario shows up.

Ori does a short jump with the surprise.

"Hi, there!"

"Spying on Layla, hm?"

"I was just watching her training… She does many pretty movements."

"Kainarian martial arts, that is what she is practicing. Her shoot style is called 'Fire Dance', a style that uses agile and acrobatic kicks that makes her appear like she is dancing, she can use her ignition to conjure fire and make her dance even prettier as well as deadlier."

"That is so cool. I did notice she had powerful legs from the first time I laid eyes on her." Ori comments.

"Indeed, kainarian spirits have very strong legs and tails, they have a more refined talent for that style of combat. Layla in particular does not use her tail in combat, instead, she practices only with her legs."

"She can use her tail to attack?" Ori asks surprised.

"Why, of course! Look at the size of her tail and ask me if it wouldn't hurt taking a sweep on the face with that. Thank the light she doesn't use it for combat."

"This is super extra cool!" Ori couldn't hide his impressed feeling.

"Yeah, but with a tail of that size, one could wonder how she can move so freely like that, it looks so rigid and heavy, right? The answer is: her tail is extremely flexible, and not so heavy as one may think, at least that's what she said. But her tail is indeed heavy, let there be no doubt, a lot a mass and muscles are in there."

"Captain," Franz calls out. "we are soon to arrive on our destiny!"

"Oh, nice job. Keep it up." Ario replies.

"Ario, where are we going?" Ori asks.

"To our little adventure."

"What? Isn't it a bit too soon?" Ori feels scared.

"Maybe, but I wish to show you something before Sein awakens."

"But I haven't even trained how to use the spirit edge."

"That is true, because of that and for the ship's safety, you can practice on this little adventure."

"This doesn't sound nice to me. Why we have to go to a dangerous place? You're not taking me to Kuro's nest, are you?

"Of course not. We are going to the Black Root Burrows, the lair of the dark serpents of Nibel"

Ori remembers when Sein spoke about that place...

"That place? But why?"

"There is something there I wish you to see and possess."

"Wouldn't be safer we await for Sein to awake? And its lair of what?"

"You heard me. Sein would not agree in you coming to this place, so I'm taking my liberty and pulling the strings."

"Okay, fine. At least tell me what are we doing there." Ori was annoyed and anxious about the adventure.

"Ori, we are going to visit Eki and Sol."

"Eki and Sol? Who are they?"

"You'll know when you meet them."

"That doesn't help with anything!"

"Too bad." Ario teases him.

"Ario!" Ori stomps annoyed

Ario has fun with Ori's anxiety and in the meantime, Sein ever approaches her awakening.

The Black Root Burrows, once the home of a now lost species, is currently a forsaken area. The lack of the light changed it and now is home for a new kind of dark creatures… Could they be like Kuro, the dark owl? Ori could not know yet, and Ario would not tell.

Anxiety increases as they travel through the skies of Nibel...


	15. Through the Black Root Burrows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter and following ones, there will be POV changes. Switching to first person and third back and forth. Now there is no need to fear, the writing will have a sudden change in its form to show that a change of view happened. Although one can be confused, I wished to add more to the writing and make it more interesting. So, I decided to experiment with these changes.
> 
> To know when the point of view shifts, you may notice the indicators of "I, me, my, etc" on the narrative. It shows that a character is narrating. The narrating character wont have its name spoken like how it would in the third person.
> 
> The change wont happen too often, and may stick mostly to third person most of the time. Anyways thats it, sorry if the writing gets confusing sometimes!
> 
> Have a good read!

As the Zephyr traveled to their destiny, Ori tried to convince Ario to abandon the idea of the little adventure but was unsuccessful. Something very important is there and Ori has to retrieve it. Their names are Eki and Sol, it possibly is a rescue, but Ori does not know anything about them so far.

They traveled through the great skies, high above the clouds avoiding bumping with the dark owl.

They were a few minutes from their destiny. Ori gave up talking to Ario and would try to ask for the help of anyone else, he left Ario behind and spots possibly the right person to help him.

I was stressed after discussing so much to no avail. In the meantime I watched Layla doing all her pretty movements like usual. I had high hopes she could help me, maybe she could stop Ario from doing this mini-adventure. I took my chances and opened the door.

"Layla..." I said, calling to her in a saddened tone.

Layla halted her training with the pleasant visit. She immediately noticed the distress coming from Ori. Feeling a little sad herself.

Oh, by the light of Seil, my heart ached to see him so down with ears-fallen. I already knew what made him like this, but even so, he looks so cute, no matter what mood he's on!

"Aw, I don't like to see you like this. Is something bothering you?" I asked smiling, trying to give him any comfort possible.

"It's Ario, he is taking me to the Black Root Burrows! Sein said that place is no good!" He said out loud, informing me what bothers him.

His stress reached me. I swear, I wanted to embrace him so bad.

"Oh, Ori, I would give you a tight hug if I wasn't sweating like this."

"Please, can you convince him to drop the 'little adventure' idea?" He asked me, desperate.

I took a moment, realizing I was powerless to be able to help him.

"I would love to, but Ario has plans for you. He will not go back on his word." I replied.

My bitter words made him look at me so pained.

"Please!" He pleaded.

"Did you know that I love you?" I said, changing the topic.

"Layla, please!" He yelled, already so annoyed.

"Oh Ori, give Ario a vote of trust. He knows what he is doing. You don't need to be so afraid."

"I don't want to trust him!"

I then think of something to show him, perhaps I could make him calm if I proved to him that everything will be fine.

"Can I tell you a short story?" I asked.

"It's not the time for stories, we are almost reaching the burrows!"

As expected, he is not in the mood to hear a story. However, I had to get his attention, I just wanted to make him calm while I could.

"While we don't arrive, let me tell you the story of a girl, that lost herself in the desert."

While I said, he got so angry. He turned away and would leave me. But one thing came to my mind, I had one trick to pull his attention...

"Spirit Ignition: July." I summoned forth the powers of my homeland.

Just like I predicted, I got his attention, he turned back to me as soon as my orange glowing energy filled the room. Using my ignition, I danced, drawing lines of flames with my hooves. In a series of flashy kicks, I drew the kainarian symbol for July. The flames could dance around and describe whatever I wanted in an image.

His eyes were fixed at me. Fair to say that he was impressed, I managed to get his attention and to soothe him. Now, the only thing left to do was to tell my story.

I took a deep breath and began.

"Long ago, in a sun-scorched land..."

…

The land of Kainar has a cruel desert that no one should traverse prematurely. During July of many years ago, a girl awoke alone in the sands.

She did not know her name or where she was, the sands blew by the wind blocked her sight, she had nowhere to go. So scared, she had no voice to call. She got up on her frail legs and began walking. Walking to the first direction she saw.

She roamed, and roamed the desert, feeling tired and weaker by each second. Until one point, she found a group of strange figures, six people that spotted and approached her. The so weak girl was exhausted, slowly losing consciousness…

"A newborn spirit!" The first of them spoke.

"Oh, this is our lucky day! They are worth a lot of money, we should sell her to the scavengers." Said the second figure.

"Don't you understand? This is a newborn spirit! If we bring the child back to Korios, Seil might forgive us and let us live in the city again!"

"You're insane, you risk our lives for this thing? Do you want to become hyena food?"

"Think about it." The first figure argued. "We will live within the safety of Korios walls if we manage to rescue her. Doesn't that sound worth enough to you?

"To hell with your madness. We shall sell it to the scavengers for supplies."

They discussed it among themselves… even starting a fight with each other. The other figures had to intervene, and one of them held the girl carefully. Soon she fell asleep and was taken with them to somewhere.

Once she woke up again, she was within the arms of the first figure she had laid her eyes upon before sleeping. It seemed they were on the move. Its arms had a hard shell covering it and the rushed movement made it very uncomfortable for the girl.

"Traitor!" An angry voice yelled at distance.

A chase. They were chased by the other strangers that she had found before. Why? What was happening? The girl began shaking and crying loudly in the arms of her rescuer.

"Shh. Everything will be okay! Please don't cry!" He said hurriedly.

As the sound of the chase wasn't enough, the crying incited predators. The dark hyenas were then on the hunt for their easy prey…

The girl was worth a lot of currency, and supplies were required to survive in the desert. They chased the rescuer that wanted to take her to Korios City, where she could be safe. The rescuer could gain Seil's favor and protection in exchange.

That dream lived briefly, they were soon assaulted by the hyenas. The large group of chasers met their end foolishly. The rescuer kept on running and the crying invited the hyenas to chase after him.

He would not outrun the predators for long. Painfully, he accepts his fate. But the girl, she doesn't have to follow him…

"I am so sorry, you must proceed alone." He said to the crying girl. "Please, run to Korios City! Tell Seil that I tried… I tried doing the right thing…!" Tears rolled down his face.

The rescuer leaves the girl on the sands and faces the incoming hyenas. Branding just a small pocket knife he had, he swore to buy time for the girl. However, she did not move… The pain of his choices, the life he threw away for a child. He should have known better, she doesn't know where the city is, she can't even run for being so, so young.

The hyenas arrive, and terror arrived with them.

The girl watched the bloodshed and paralyzed in fear. The supposed rescuer was torn apart, and she would be the next. The hyenas circle the helpless girl, enjoying her terrified look…

And then, salvation arrived. Arrows of light rained upon the predators, greatly injuring them. The hyenas fight against a spirit, an archer. They lose the confrontation and are forced to leave.

The girl sees one of her kind for the first time, her tears would not stop coming.

"You must have been blown all the way here… I am sorry for the traumatizing beginning, little one." The spirit said, picking up the girl.

The girl started to calm down upon the touch of a spirit, his light welcomed her. She felt safe.

"Shh… Don't cry, I will take you to safety. Let's head to Korios, shall we?" He asked with a caring smile.

They began to move, leaving the horror scene behind. The girl remembered time and time again the last moments of her rescuer, of that poor soul that risked everything for her.

"I know you're sad, little one. But don't be like that, because the light always finds a way…"

The spirit talked to the little girl, trying to soothe her heart. He could easily see what had happened in that place, her eyes told much…

"You know, what about I give you a name?" The spirit asked

She knew she had a name, but did not know her own.

"I think it would be rude to your Spirit Tree if I named you. Let's do one thing at a time then. Firstly let's take care of you and treat you in the city."

As she heard the voice of the spirit, as she embraced his light, she calmed down. Closing her eyes and falling asleep in the fluffy arms of a new rescuer.

When she woke up, she was in a desert no longer, but rather in a strange building. She was laying down on a bed of brown sheets and only one masked person in white clothes was in the room with her. The person was not the spirit…! Where is the spirit? The girl began to cry, she was so afraid of anything and anyone.

So much crying that the doctors could not manage to calm her down. They had to call the spirit that brought the child to this place. After some time, that spirit showed up, and the girl reached out, desperate for him. Her behavior worried the doctors.

Once the spirit carried her, she quickly calmed down, burying her face on his shoulder.

"Her health is stable, luckily did not suffer physical harm. But, we fear her mind will have a scar for a long time…" The doctor said.

The girl finally could rest again. The spirit and doctor soon learned she becomes so afraid of anything without her rescuer… She was so scared of being alone without him.

"There's is another way, however. Speak to Seil, she may know how to heal her mind." The doctor suggested.

Not much time later, Seil, the wisp of Ingenuity, granted a great reward to the spirit that rescued their lost children. A wondrous flying ship, a fitting gift for a traveler like himself.

As for the girl, Seil did a vast search for the soul of the unfortunate that tried to save her. She had found him and brought it into the light of her Spirit Tree, granting him a second chance. Reborn as a spirit, with a new name and story to write.

All that was not enough for her, as she was said to have developed a certain strange type of autophobia, the fear of being alone.

When Seil was asked to heal the girl's mind, she said that would be too harsh for the girl, for she would forget everything, and it was not the correct way to protect her.

"The scar can be healed without my light." Seil recited. "Give the girl the affection and time she needs. For she does not want to forget, and rather to remember the peace and hope she feels at your side."

The spirit then made a new choice, he would adopt the child and take her with him. Seil was asked if the spirit could name the girl, and she happily allowed it.

"What name shall you give her?" Seil asked.

"Layla." The spirit replied.

With a meaning or not, Seil liked it. For her future would be guarded, safe in the arms of a kind soul.

"Very well, traveler. I thank you for granting her your shoulder. Your action of inspiration shall be remembered… and now, let's party!"

Seil could not hold her enthusiastic nature and celebrated with all citizens of Korios, doing the great ceremony of light throughout the entire day. Soon the city security was increased, Seil promised that no other leaf would fly away from her reach.

...

Layla finished her story. The flames extinguish and Ori was overall shocked.

"What did you think? Sorry if it wasn't a very happy story overall." Layla commented embarrassedly.

Ori was still shocked, he took moment and shook his head.

"The girl is you!" Ori said almost not believing it

Layla remains in silence with a smile on her face.

"And the other spirit is Ario! He adopted you." Ori said slowly, getting the message she wanted to give

"That's right." Layla confesses, smiling kindly. "So, did I manage to ease your anxiety? I wanted to show you a reason to trust Ario."

Anxiety? He thought, not even remembering what he was on about earlier. The story was heartfelt. Ori could never have expected to hear so much about her.

"I… I don't know what to say..." Ori confessed.

"Aw, really wished to take a quick shower and hug you…"

Someone arrives in the room, Ario appears calling.

"Hey, Ori! We have arrived! We will land shortly."

Ori's ears droop, showing his discomfort.

"Oh, okay…" Ori begins to feel anxious again. "I have to go Layla…"

She gives him another kind smile.

"Don't be afraid, Ori. For you are in good hands."

"I will try Layla…" He said a bit better.

"Ario may be mysterious sometimes, but he is most kind. Seil saw that on him too. So, I'll say it again, don't be afraid, okay?"

Ori tries his best to calm down with her words, he begins to walk to his commitment. But firstly, he runs to Layla and gives her a tight hug.

"Thank you for the story, Layla." He said with arms around her.

He then runs out, leaving her behind. Leaving a bit of comfort that he could share with her.

Layla places one hand on her cheek.

"I just fell in love, again~." She chuckles.

...

The Zephyr finally lands after a long flight.

Ori reaches Ario at the ships' deck, seeing his surroundings.

"I am here." Ori presented himself

"Hey there, my guy. I thought you wouldn't come?"

"I still don't like any of this. So, where are we?"

"We are at the entrance of the Black Root Burrows. A location hidden within the Sunken Glades."

The atmosphere was slightly familiar. Purplish flora surrounded them in a dense curtain of vines and leaves. Ori could see a wide lake, and it's far the other end, a waterfall.

"Where are the burrows?" Ori asked.

"Behind that waterfall." Ario replied.

Ori gazes at the waterfall and looks back at Ario.

"The burrows are within a cavern?"

"Yes, the cavern itself is huge and it has a whole ecosystem. There is much to be known there, but I believe I don't need to say it all. We are just going there and paying Eki and Sol a visit."

"What can we expect in there?" Ori's anxiety grew with every moment.

"Hmm, big insects, slugs, thorns, darkness, and of course, the dark serpents!" Ario replies excitedly.

"Ario, this is not fun!" Ori tells him.

"Forgive me, I will stop playing around. So let's get moving shall we?"

"You're coming with me, right?" Ori asked.

"Yes, I am. I will be your safeguard."

Ori felt a little calmer.

"But let me tell you, I will guide you in there until a certain point, after that you will need to go on by yourself. Of course, I will be watching over you the whole time, even if you don't see me.

"After that certain point, I will not interfere with anything, even when you collide with trouble. I will intervene only and only when you run high risks of death or a grave injury."

"You are no safeguard!" Ori said out loud.

Ario just can't contain himself and enjoy his stressed mood. He claps his hands a few times, to make a call.

"Daruk, Franz, and Layla, I need you three here!"

They show themselves, awaiting for Ario's words.

"Daruk, I need you to gather more light crystals, search the area around us. Don't do anything crazy big guy."

"Sure thing. Our forge was running low on light energy either way. I'll be back soon." Daruk complied, turning around and leaping away. He quickly gets out of sight.

"Franz and Layla, you two will search for supplies, especially for food. Bring anything edible. And Franz, manners on the grubs"

"Aye! Let-za go girl! Franz the phoenix shall protect you."

"Who will watch the ship? What about Sein?" Ori asked.

"No need for that." Ario replies. "This place hasn't seen movement in a long time. Sein will be safe here."

Layla waves to Ori and goes out to gather supplies.

"Well then, let's get moving at last." Ario moved to land, going ahead. Ori followed him still feeling a little anxious.

"Ario, how long do you believe this could take?"

"Honestly, I believe one or two days."

"We will spend days in this cavern?"

"It will depend on you. If you find Eki and Sol sooner, then we shall leave sooner."

As they walked to the waterfall, Ori thinks in something to chat in the meantime.

"Hey Ario, I learned that of you saved Layla! I heard the story!"

"I know, I was listening too."

Ori was just surprised.

"But how? You weren't there."

"I have a great hearing, never forget that."

"That's so cool! I really liked your heroic act. How did you feel at that time?"

Ario delves in memories...

"When I heard the screams and the little girl's intense breathing, I ran to her direction and did not hesitate to fire at the predators. I felt so sorry for her at that moment, she had seen too much, lived far too much terror for her age.

"You learned that she developed autophobia, right?"

"Yes, it's the fear of being alone, correct?"

"Yes, but in her case, her phobia only bothered her when she was separated from me. She never was left alone in that city. She just wanted to be with me.

"She cried and yelled at me, pleading for me to stay with her. She was one pesky little thing, giving trouble to anyone around her if I wasn't nearby. At that time, I didn't know how she got so attached to me, but I realized, she was feeling alone.

"For what she had to go through, she would not say farewell to me. I think she could see herself in that desert, reliving the terror all the time. When she could see me, she would quickly calm down. That's is how her phobia manifested.

"I then followed my brother's steps, I adopted her, for I could not stand to hurt her any further. I raised her the best as I could, took her to north to south on our travels and I am glad she grew to be the tough and beautiful girl she is today.

"An interesting fact, she got a little more secure about herself and doesn't suffer too much being away from me. In any case, I hate to leave her by herself in most situations, that's why I sent Franz to accompany her."

"That is so kind of you." Ori said moved. "She must have been so happy when you adopted her, and even to this day."

Ario and Ori reach the waterfall and take a passage that leads to the cavern behind the cascading waters. The conversation made Ori calmer. Once entering the cavern, darkness was very intense and not much could be seen. A few glowing mushrooms and other types of fungi glowed very faintly, not helping them to see so much in the dark. Ario decides to get more serious from this point on.

"I did what I had to, but that's enough storytime." Ario said.

"I also want to hear the story of your brother!" Ori reminded him.

"You deserve to hear more happy stories, my guy. And not the sad ones."

"If I tell you mine, will you tell me more about Yali?"

Ario's ears tilt, detecting an unpleasant sound.

"That's not the time." Ario said to Ori, trying to focus.

"You didn't answer me, Ario."

"No really, an angry spider is coming our way."

Scurrying noises reaches Ori as a big spider shows up baring its fangs. He is caught by surprise and falls on his back scared.

Ario quickly fires an arrow on the spider before it could get close. The spider is killed and the sight was very shocking to Ori.

"You okay?" Ario asked, obviously noticing that he was not.

The sudden scare, the corpse of the spider… Ori stared at it for a few seconds and fear dominated him.

"I want to leave!" He said in shock, running away. Returning the path to the waterfall.

Ori soon is halted by Ario.

"Listen, I know this is hard, and I can feel your anxiety hitting the clouds, but this is necessary." Ario told him.

"No, it's not! Let me go!" Ori said panting.

"I know you have the courage to brave anything. You went through much worse already, right? This place? This place is nothing to you. You just need to believe."

"I had Sein with me! This is not the same!" He fights off Ario's hold.

"You were just fine minutes ago, we were talking about Layla and such."

"Let me go!"

"You can't expect Sein to protect you forever. You said yourself that you wanted to become stronger to be able to help her further."

"I don't care!" He struggles.

"Listen to yourself Ori, fear is talking for you. You trained with me and learned how to summon the spirit edge. Imagine how Sein would react seeing you stronger than ever before.

"If you say you can't do this, then you won't be able to do anything."

Ori slowly ceases his struggle, he tries to gather courage.

"That's right, you can do it. You've trained and now you can defend yourself. I will watch over you. There is nothing to fear."

"You promise?" Ori wished to be reassured.

"I promise you."

Ario then released him. The young spirit looks terrified but tries to stand firm. An observation that Ario could do, was the fact he always had Sein to protect him and never had to deal with a challenge by himself. The feeling of danger, however, should not so terrifying like now...

"Ori, let me ask you, have you found any ancestral trees on your journey with Sein?" Ario asked.

"Yes, I found a few." He said still uncomfortable.

"So you know the process right?"

"I do. It's very difficult for me sometimes, Sein always had to calm me down."

"I see." Ario moves one hand under his chin.

"There was that one time…" Ori adds up. "That I had to fight a spirit."

Ario feels curious about such words.

"What? You fought a spirit from an ancestral tree?"

"I did, his name was Reem, and he was very angry with me."

"Why he was angry?" Ario asked.

"Because it is my fault that Nibel is suffering!" Ori said overly emotional.

"Hey, calm down. It was not your fault, you don't have anything to do with Kuro. Tell me what happened, how did Sein react to Reem?"

"Long story short, Sein could not stop Reem and his rage towards me. He provoked and insulted me, saying that I was a nuisance and a deadweight to Sein. He was stronger and more experienced in battles than me, but I did manage to beat him."

"Sein did not help you?" Ario asked.

"Sein could not interfere… And I was so immersed, I wanted to prove to Reem that I was not a failure. I think that's why Sein didn't stop us. I was proud and in peace after all that battle, like I could prove that I am strong…"

Ario could see more now, he did had to battle by himself. He has the grit needed, he just needs a little push.

"I understand. That's one more reason that you should not be afraid of this cavern. You fought much already, I can see that. Your triumph over Reem is no small achievement, it's because of your unbreakable courage that you have come this far with Sein. Otherwise, she would be weakened and forever lost."

Ori was slowly adapting, gathering the courage to press forward.

"There is much that I want to hear from you, my guy. For now, let's get this quest complete so we can return and welcome Sein once she wakes up. Deal?"

"Deal." Ori replied.

"Alright, summon the spirit edge, and let's move ahead."

Ori takes a few seconds and does as asked. He summons the spirit edge, the blade that will allow him to fight. With such weapon, he has nothing to fear.

"You know, I was thinking about your spirit edge..." Ario commented, drawing Ori's attention.

"Thanks to Sein's purifying flames, your spirit edge is special among any other spirit weapon. The flames by itself make you a force to be reckoned with. This gift is yours, and yours alone. Did you know that?"

Ori gazes at the spirit edge, wondering about what bearing such gift could mean… Soon Ario pats his head, drawing his attention again.

"Let's not waste time. We don't want to spend more days than the necessary in that cavern, do we? Ario asked.

Ori nodded, and they returned to the cavern, to the Black Root Burrows.

They walk further into the cavern, daylight became distant and darkness blocked their sight. The spirit edge could illuminate the place fairly well.

The atmosphere was tense, as something is always watching them… Sound of water dripping from the ceiling to the floor, insectoid hissings, their pit-pat steps… Every sound made things more difficult.

With each new step into the darkness, felt like a choice that bothers the mind, it is whispered into his ears. "Do you really wish to proceed?". Ori couldn't understand such thoughts on his mind. He wasn't sure if Ario was hearing them too. They moved on, going up and down with the uneven cavernous of both muddy and rough floors.

Even with the spirit edge, the illumination soon became scarce. The glowing fungi were not a good help either, they were often momentarily blocked by something passing over them.

Ario's ears tilt almost all the time, detecting the small and uneasy sounds… Creatures lurk around.

Moving further they stop by a huge pit, seemingly impossible to traverse. However, the Black Root Burrows had more than the eye could meet...

"Hey Ori, what do you think? Where we go to now?" Ario asked.

Ori did not know the answer, as they found a giant pit it was a dead end.

"Maybe turn back and find another way?" Ori suggested.

"Nop, we will proceed ahead."

"We will jump down?" Ori asked worriedly.

"Also nop, we will traverse the pit and reach the other side, thought the platforms."

"Platforms? What platforms?"

"Let me show you." Ario summons and pulls the string from his bow, charging an arrow to fire.

The arrow fired works like a flare, its light hovers in the air illuminating a lot of the place. Magic platforms are revealed, they reflect the light so it's possible to see them.

"You see there? Those platforms."

"But there was nothing there? Ori observed.

"Yeah, because without light, we cannot see in the dark. Also, these platforms are a little special, you see, they were built long ago by old magic called…"

Ori wasn't listening, as the flare shone the pit below, Ori could see a statue partially broken, its face, it had a familiar appearance… It looked like Naru…

"Are you listening Ori?" Ario called.

"Ahm, Ario… do you see the statue?"

"I do, what about it?"

"It looks like my mother."

Ario feels curious once more.

"Your mother? Your mother was a Urseia?"

Ori did not recognize or understand that name.

"Ur...seia?"

"The species that once lived in the Black Root Burrows. I have never seen an Urseia in my life."

I felt offended by that name. My mother is Naru and not Urseia. Why did he even try to guess that weird name? I gave him a confused stare and replied.

"My mother is Naru! She is very big and fluffy, has soft and cozy arms that she used to carry me."

Ario chuckled and pat his head.

"Wow, so you've met one… Tell me that story later, would you? Let's get going."

A new head pat, I often think they make me feel smaller, like a child, but I like them. I always loved those small actions of affection. I wondered what he meant by "So you've met one"... As I was pondering, Ario leaped to the platforms, going ahead. I stopped thinking and went after him before I was left behind.

Reaching the other side, I could not stop thinking... the statue, the strange platforms, this place is not just a cavern.

"Ario, what is this place exactly?" I asked, but Ario seemed restless, his ears were tilting a lot.

"I would love to answer your question my guy, but we are not in a comfortable position for such a thing."

I could hear it now… my ears began to detect the hisses, the same arachnid hiss that surprised me earlier. I could not see them but knew they were too close for comfort.

"Watch yourself, the spiders are here again." Ario warns

Listening to the warning I put a battle stance on… But what can I do? Without vision or Sein's guiding it's really difficult. I did a few steps back and ended finding Ario's back to support mine. I was very insecure and scared. The tension… Wasn't doing any good for me.

"Listen, once I fire the flare for us to see them, do not move. Understood?"

I agreed with a hum and nod. I was very afraid of what I could see...

"Remember, do not move."

Ario fires the flare and reveals the area around them. The same type of spider that they found earlier were everywhere, watching the spirits. Poised to strike as they bare their fangs.

The sight was terrifying, the big spiders were all baring their fangs and standing completely still. If they decided to jump on them all at once… For their luck, they don't do anything, they just stay still. Completely still…

Ori did not move a muscle as Ario asked, but the intensity of the situation made him feel like pointing the spirit edge to one of the spiders. Possibly to scare them away.

Ario had a calm and serious look as he analyzed the situation…

What do I do? Any move in false and it's over for us… I might not be able to protect Ori and myself in a fragment of a second. Not even a spirit art can help, not in this situation. I don't have environmental light to draw anyway. How can we fight out of this? If I may be able to fire a smoke bomb… Can the spiders be blinded? Obviously not. They literally live in the darkness…

The spiders hide their fangs, seemed like they are losing interest? Are they recognizing the presence of the spirits? Their poised stance from before seemed like they are stressed and feeling threatened.

Ario has a realization with the new turn of events.

Of course! These are bronze widow spiders, their brown fur and eyes are very sensitive to light and heat, that's why they feel agitated and threatened. It would be great if they could indeed lose interest, but Ori's spirit edge is the problem, without speaking of the freaking flare that I just fired. I need to inform Ori to guard his sword, but how?

I tried to poke Ori, hoping he would understand the signal.

The small nudge on his back does not seem to be very comprehensible. Ori watched the bronze widow, they seem to feel a little more comfortable. They start to disperse, but one widow approaches the spirit edge?

What? Why is this widow approaching? The warmth of Sein's flames was not bothering it? Why is it so close to literal flames if they don't like the heat. I felt tenser than ever before, this small game of sudden movement could cost a lot on Ori. I watched him closely, to my surprise, he was not scared...

Slowly the bronze widows left them, the one that approached Ori was very quiet. Ario moved carefully and repositioned himself to whisper to Ori.

"The sword, guard it."

Ori does not feel like doing it. Instead, he moves the blade from one side to another, the widow follows the flames, it wants to feel warmth…

"What in the name of Sei is that spider doing…" Ario comments.

Ori thinks about doing something crazy and decides to touch the creature.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ario whispers. "Don't touch it."

"Relax." Ori whispers back.

Ori went forward and laid his hand over the spider. Glady it did not react to the touch, and to its surprise, Ori would begin to understand what the spider could be thinking. Ori's light started to make way into the spider, trails of white light could be seen over the widow.

"Heat. Cold. Heat. Heat. No cold. Warmth. Good. Warm good."

It was just insane to be able to understand the thoughts of a non-intelligent spider, a wild animal.

"Light. No. Bad. Bad. No light. Hurts. Bad. Heat. Much."

Ori took his hand away, he could not hear the widow thoughts anymore and it began moving away. They were free from the ambush and could proceed again. Ario watched the whole thing perplexed.

"Ori, could you explain to me what the hell was that?"

"I could hear the spider speaking." Ori replied.

"Excuse me? Have you gone crazy?"

"I'm serious, I just wanted to understand its behavior."

"How did you understand a spider?"

"I just wanted to understand, and voila… I guess?"

Ario wonders for a moment.

"You're saying, that you can understand, learn speech, and read minds on a simple touch?

"Look, not even Sein can explain this. I just touch things and I can understand them."

Ario was amused.

"Oooh, fascinating... "

"Any spirit can do it, right? Right?" Ori asked with uncertainty.

"If any spirit could do it, do you think Sein or even I could be asking about it?"

Ori feels embarrassed. He could remember that day on the Moon Grotto.

"Makes sense I suppose. But why is that only I can understand others?"

"I don't know. There is much for us to learn about you, Ori. First the spirit edge, then the Urseia, now that quaint light-bending trick. Will you ever stop surprising me?" Ario asked content.

Ario started moving, feeling curious to know more about Ori, certainly, he is not just a child. Sein may be very lucky...

Ori after hearing such kind words made him very happy regarding his strength, his self-confidence was boosted. He hoped to be able to do much more.

Ario was wondering about moments ago, the ambush… The uncertain behavior of the bronze widows… Maybe asking Ori could be a good idea.

"Ori, what did you learn about the spider's behavior?"

"Oh, it was curious it seemed. It was not scared but it couldn't stay close for much time. It said the warmth was good, but the light was hurting…"

"So Sein's flames made a difference. Should have expected that. The spiders don't like the light because their eyes are very sensitive to it, that's why they live in places such as this one."

"What do you think of the first spider we've met?" Ori asked.

"I can't explain that one. Maybe it just went crazy."

"I see…" Ori replied.

Just a few steps later, new creatures revealed themselves, purplish glowing slugs tainted in decay, they crawled on many surfaces of the cavern's walls. Ario saw that as an opportunity.

"Oh, I have found the right thing for you to use your blade on, Ori"

Ario's point was very clear as Ori saw the slugs. He is supposed to practice with the sword and kill the tainted slugs.

"They are almost harmless, just careful with the spikes. Now go forward, put them out of their misery."

Ario pushed Ori closer to one of the slugs, it twitched as the flames were closer. Ori was very nervous but took courage to complete the deed, he poked the tip of the spirit edge on the slug, making the flames spread onto it…

"Hey, Ori, you should slash the slug, you know. Your weapon is not a stick."

The slug burned alive, suffering a lot.

"The flames definitely will aid you, but don't rely just on it."

Ori nods to Ario, trying as hard as he can.

The practice continued, Ori had many failed attempts and luckily the slugs were all too kind for his desire, making the task harder. The only thing that allowed him to go on was the fact they were tainted, so it was necessary.

How many tries already? I already lost count. Ori was having a hard time to slay simple slugs, he probably would never use the blade for anything, so I had to make him to. Even so young, he has too many problems for taking a life, well that's acceptable I guess. But he is far too kind, far too soft. After all he had been through, he should have a serious face. I know he has one, if not he would never beat another spirit in battle. But how I can invoke it from him?

"Hey Ori, let's just move on. You practiced enough." I said.

He gladly stopped poking the slugs and came to me.

"Please, let's get this done Ario. I don't like hurting others." He said, quite bummed.

"Yes, let's just find Eki and Sol already."

Finally, I was so sad for needing to burn those slugs, even if they were corrupted, they did not resist, or even defended themselves. My arms were so weak to swing the sword… At least now we should move to the main point. We moved ahead together, we traveled through the huge cavern systems and we moved down. Descending more and more while we jumped through the magic platforms. The strange statues of what seemed like my mother were around, so much was running through my mind.

Ario and I reached a new wide pit, seemed like another that could have magic platforms to go through. Ario summoned his arc to fire the flare. I watched the pit forward awaiting the platforms to appear. I was getting impatient, how long until we reach Eki and Sol? I want to return to Sein so badly.

"So young, so naive…" Ario said in a low tone.

I noticed Ario taking quite some time to fire the flare and before I could turn around, I felt his hand on my back, pushing me forward…

"You let your guard down…" He said.

Before I could react, it was too late. I fell, rolling down, crashing through the rough rocky floor until reaching the bottom. I grunted in pain, coughing out the dust I inhaled. I stood up feeling my skin ache, I had so many bruises, it was so painful… I looked back up to Ario, he watched me from where he pushed me off.

"Ario! Why did-" I went silent.

Ario was different… I began fearing the worst.

"I said that would guide you until a certain point, right?" He said to me

No… No! He can't be serious! He wouldn't!

"You promised me! You promised that would watch over me!" I yelled.

I wasn't even bothered by my bruisers anymore as now my heart ached, I felt so betrayed, I was going crazy. I could climb back up, but what if he throws me down again…?

"Ario, please stop playing. This is not funny!"

He stood still, watching me with cold eyes. Did I do something wrong? My mind raced, was it the slugs? What have I done to deserve this? I was getting desperate.

"Why you look at me like this? What have I done to you?" I asked feeling heartbroken. I was about to begin climbing.

"You have limited time, Ori. Do what you must and come back to the Zephyr before we leave you behind."

I watched him turn around, I was completely speechless denying the situation before my eyes. This cannot be… I began climbing back up, I was not going to be left alone in this cavern!

Ario notices Ori coming back up, he sighs in amazement.

"Nice try…"

Ario fires at the cavern ceiling. He caused an avalanche of boulders to come down to block the path, Ori was forced to let go of the climbing and go back down.

"Find your way out, Ori. Don't make me wait." Ario's voices became distant with each word.

Ori called and called desperate, hearing Ario's footsteps more and more further away.

Ario does not come back, Ori refused to believe… He called until his voice was tired, and when the truth finally set in, he fell on his knees.

Anger began to manifest. I wanted it to be a prank, I wanted to apologize for whatever I did him wrong… With every passing second, my hopes went astray. All what Layla said to me was a lie! It was all buillshit! Never before I got so frustrated, I wished Sein were with me so much… I was conflicted, the anger shifted to sorrow and vice-versa. I felt broken. I've been left behind...

I curled up and cried as it was the only thing I could possibly do in such situation. I was scared once again, wishing for Sein to save me. I just wanted to feel safe...

A hiss reached my ears, It was not insectoid… It sounded deeper and vibrant. The hissing echoed within the cavern...


	16. Our Home, Our Refuge

A sobbing pulled the interest of the unknown. A child of the light, abandoned in the dark...

Trying to deal with the new turn of events, Ori cried out for whole minutes, unable to calm down and adapt. The Black Root Burrows became agitated by the child's despair, something was soon to meet Ori.

…

I curled up and cried as it was the only thing I could do in such a situation. I just felt despair, I wanted Sein to save me, I just wanted to feel safe.

A hiss reached my ears, It was not insectoid… It sounded deeper and vibrant, the hissing echoed within the cavern...

"A ssspirit…? In my lair…?" A deep, intense voice echoed through every corner.

Such a voice forces Ori to focus. He stands up cleaning his tears. He raises the spirit edge, trying to see what just spoke. Its illumination was not enough. The suspense started to set in.

"Who's there!?" Ori shouted to the darkness.

A hissing echoes.

"Why are you here…?" The intense voice asked.

The tension was much for Ori to handle. He desperately tries to understand what he is up against. Another hissing echoes, this time more threatening, demanding. Fear was great for the young spirit, he must answer the voice.

"I was…" He stutters conflicted and afraid. "I was…!" Ori fails to speak, tears begin to pour from his eyes again.

The voice hissed, notifying it would speak.

"Betrayal…"

It understood Ori's feelings… The surprise somehow calms the spirit for a moment. A few seconds of complete silence goes by, the suspense increases as Ori tries to stand firm.

"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Ori demanded, trying to get more details of the mysterious being.

At every second fear crawled on my skin, I was shaking uncontrollably and my legs wanted to give in. I must not, I must not hesitate. Whatever is talking to me is not an ally!

"Child, you're not ready."

What is it talking about? I held my sword steady. I never had to cut anything before, but would certainly strike anything that shows up!

"Your weapon, cannot harm me… You are frail and broken; no miracle can hear you here..." The hissing voice said.

I felt angry with its taunt, I focused to stop shaking and prepare myself to battle.

"Show yourself!" I demanded yet again.

The voice laughed, mocking me. It sounded like it was enjoying itself.

"Insecure. Hurt. Revolted. Betrayed..." The voice seemed to be analyzing me. "A frustrated ssspirit, abandoned in the dark..."

"Don't talk like you know what I am feeling! I just lost a friend! I was left behind here!"

I explained my situation a little, I needed time to adapt. Proceeding the conversation could give me the time needed.

"I sssee as much, child. Tell me, why were you left here?"

The question made me emotional again. The stirring of rage and sorrow I had made me lose my posture. I had my guard down again…!

"I… don't know…!" I said tearing up. Terrified of the creature's chance to attack me in my vulnerability.

"What wasss your objective here?" The voice asked something of importance.

My objective… The reason I came to this light forsaken cavern. I dived in my memories, of when Layla asked me to trust Ario. To come to this place with him and find Eki and Sol… It doesn't matter anymore, does it? I was betrayed. Layla and Ario deceived me. What will they do to Sein? Have I doomed Nibel at last? Mother, I wish I could hear your voice again!

Another threatening hiss echoes.

"Answer me, ssspirit…"

I shiver as the voice raises its tone with me. It makes me stop hesitating and refocus on my current situation.

"I… I was here for Eki and Sol!" I reveal my original plan.

Silence. The voice is gone? I wait for a few seconds and it hisses again. This suspense was getting on my nerves. I was frightened and furious. I will not meet my end here!

"The treesss…" The voice said.

Trees? Eki and Sol are trees? I then remember when Ario asked me about ancestral trees. I see now… Deceased spirits, in a place like this?

The creature seems to be moving, slithering… Will it attack? I focus to keep watch in every direction. I decided to open my mouth to speak.

"I wish to leave this place! Can you help me?"

"You will leave the treesss behind? You will simply waste your journey until here?"

"I don't care about them! I just want to return to Sein!"

A new hiss, this time surprised, disdainful

"The light of peace… I see…"

What is it talking about? Does it know Sein?

"Child, I wish to ask you a favor... Return their light. They do not belong here."

It wants me to save Eki and Sol? Why would it say that?

"My kind is very disapproving of the light. We hate itsss intensity and it disturbs our minds. The treesss, they glow for long… They feel like a beacon in our home. I want you to take the light out of here, return them to your wisp.

"If you don't, I will dessstroy their trees once and for all. Including, yoursss…"

Ori felt the responsibility to comply with its request, he had no choice. Somehow it could give him the chance to leave the burrows...

"Still, you lack the will for sssuch thing. A fragile child, like yourself, will never sssucceed…"

Anger and frustration returned. It makes Ori abandon his sorrow.

"I am not fragile!" He shouted.

"Then prove to me…" The hissing got closer.

"Prove to me, and to them… that you are not fragile…"

The voice moved ever closer to Ori. A what seemed a pointy nose entered within sight. Momentarily a forked tongue appeared and vanished… A dark serpent, in scales as dark as onyx.

"Avenge yourself, from those who wronged you. Take the trees' light. They shall aid you."

Its face was now visible, the serpent had colorless eyes. Blinded eyes.

Ori beholds the huge creature before him. Just its face was so big, imagine the rest… Ori goes closer and tries to reach the serpent with one hand.

"You're blind…" Ori said, stepping forward slowly.

The serpent hides again.

"A price I had to pay... to have contact with the light... long ago…"

"How can you see?" Ori asks curiously.

"I can sssee much, child. I sssee your fears, your wishes. I sssee your aura."

"My aura?"

"The everflowing life energy inside you, I can see it clearly."

Slowly, anger was leaving Ori as curiosity allowed him to occupy his mind. Desire to befriend the dark serpent became a new priority.

"Now go, find your way out. Retrieve what you came here for." The serpent said, dismissing the spirit.

"May… may I know your name?" Ori asked, amiably.

Yet another hissing echoes, this time enticed, tolerant.

"I am Salendisss, the viper of the burrowsss."

Ori felt a splint of happiness with the serpent's generosity by answering his question. It's mysterious and yet kind personality attracted Ori

"Pleasure to meet you, Salendis. My name is Ori."

"Child, don't wassste your time. Go."

"I just want to know you better." The spirit said caringly.

"You may learn more… Once you complete your task." Salendis replied.

Ori gathers strength to make an unusual request...

"Can I… touch you?" Ori asked boldly.

Salendis laughs at such a weird request. Ori knew that it would never be attended, still, he gave it a chance.

"The essence of peace grows vividly in you. Have you already forgotten your current position?

"Kindness will only bring you your demise. Like how you ended up here…"

Ori understood the words of truth, but still… he doesn't wish to retain anger any longer.

"Do not forget child, the betrayal… Avenge yourself… or perish in your arrogance…"

Salendis seems to be slithering away, leaving Ori behind. A tremor shakes the caverns as what seemed a new path was opened by force. A small glowing mushroom is thrown at the new passage, informing Ori where he should go.

"Salendis? You there?" Ori called.

"Speak, child." Salendis answered.

Ori wanted to know more about the serpent, but it would not reveal itself to easily. Ori then though on a new subject...

"Salendis, do you know Kuro?"

"The dark owl… Yes… All of Nibel knows her…"

"I wish to find a way to help her. Do you have any knowledge of how I may reach her?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have any, child…"

The aura of Ori showed indices of hope for the dark owl. Salendis knew that in his previous request, it was not just a simple touch…

Ori looks at his hand, closing his fist. Gathering determination.

"I wish you luck… Now go..." The serpent said respectfully, and yet impatient.

"I will." Ori replied. "Any tips to lead to the trees faster?"

"Follow their memories…"

Memories? Ori was confused. Would it be wise to ask for more information? Ori decided to not bother the serpent any longer. He then steps forward in the direction of where the mushroom was thrown, and a path was there.

"Ssspirit… Prepare yourself to use your blade… you will need it, more than ever…"

The warning had a deep impact. Ori focused and hardened his determination. He could traverse on a new path to find his way out.

"Understood. Thanks, Salendis."

Hearing a final hiss, Ori left the serpent behind. Walking slowly on a new passage of a narrow corridor, Ori squeezes himself through and reaches the other side to what seemed a large field. Observing the area with the scarce illumination, Ori could notice, this large field, was once a meadow.

"Welcome, to the Lossst Grove…" Salendis spoke.

"Salendis? You're here?" Ori checked his surroundings, trying to spot the serpent.

"Never mind me… Focusss on what's ahead of you…"

"Can I at least see you?" Ori asked, bothered.

He received silence… The place seemed like it had a story of old. Trying to see his surroundings with just the spirit edge's light, he noticed more and more of the said statues of Naru around. Hanging ornaments all over the cavern's ceiling. The mushrooms released glowing spores that flew around. The scenery soon became pretty.

"Salendis, what is this place?" Ori asked beholding the once greenish terrain.

"This was once the home of the Urseia… A lonely and prideful ssspecies that always mattered their own affairs, away from all others…"

"Urseia…" Ori repeated, remembering that Ario said that name too.

"This place was a lot more lively and brighter once before. They lived long until the ssspore infestation arose…"

"Spore infestation?" Ori asked, surprised.

"It all began with one special and mysterious mussshroom, spreading spores all over the place. It releases a deadly and infectious spore that multiplies itself wildly when it enters in contact with almost any surface or being… The cavern has many passages for wind currents, which made this a death zone for the Urseia.

"Ssspirit, tread carefully now… The mushrooms are more than simple fungi forward on. The trees lie beyond this vale. Follow the memories, they shall guide you..."

Much was filled into Ori's mind. Thousands of questions surged as he knew he had limited time to ask them all. He then made a question when remembering his mother.

"Wait, Salendis. What happened to the urseia?"

"They fled, at least the ones that were healthy. Those infected never had a cure…"

My mother… lived here? Did she take this risk? Could this sickness be what killed her…?

"If only they went to the light for a cure… They were stubborn and prideful. They never asked for help and paid the price." Salendis informed.

The light could cure it? My mother… My mother embraced the light! Sein had told me. Then this sickness wasn't the cause…

"Ssspirit… Your blade can open the way… Burn the spores, retrieve the light, and avenge yourself…"

Salendis' words reignited a flame I wanted to be extinguished. He is right! I can't forget what Ario did to me… I will find my way out and rescue Sein!

"Thank you for your help, Salendis." I clenched my grasp on the spirit edge's handle. Focused to get out of this place.

Salendis replies with a soft hiss and goes away. Ori then moves ahead, wielding the spirit edge correctly, for both as a torch and sword purposes. He contemplates the place; the dead grass, and small breeze… Does sunlight also reach this place? It doesn't matter much in the end. Just by moving the sword, the air burned slightly, a small high-pitched squeak could be heard… The floating spores are doing it?

Ori analyzes, doing his first-ever swing, slashing the air widely. The squeak was louder like there were many of them. The blue flames spread at a quick pace like sparks through the air, almost invisible for the naked eye.

These spores are what created the infestation in the first place. Sein's flames are truly a blessing, the path is secure for now.

Childish giggles sounded through the place. Ori looks around to locate its source, and soon three children appear running. Seemed they're playing together. Two little spirits and one little… Urseia?

"Wait for me guys!" The little urseia said, making short pauses to catch her breath.

"Come on Naru. Eki will win again!" One of the spirits said.

"What?" Ori said in shock, watching the children running by.

Naru? Did that spirit just say Naru? Ori stares at them as they run out of sight. Their form, they were ethereal, clearly not solid or touchable. Could they be the memories? Literal ghosts appearing?

Ori decides to go after them, they run into a new passage within the broken meadow. The spirit edge burns all spores in the air, protecting Ori from inhaling them. As the flames spread all around, a new squeak sounds, this time much more bulky and harsh.

Bigger mushrooms uproot themselves with the spirit's presence. They don't have eyes or noses but have a mouth. They drool as they approach sloppily to Ori.

Ori faces the incoming fungi creatures, taking a deep breath to concentrate.

My officially first battle... Such things don't have a will, don't have a mind to think. They must be put down.

"For what you things did to this place, you won't have a chance to do it to the outer world!" I pronounced.

Observing steadily the creatures to strike, Ori takes a moment and reconsiders: What if they release a gust of spores when wounded? Possibly a swift strike and quick retreat will suffice. Could even use bash to create immediate distance, that could work.

Rushing in, Ori does a full swing and slashes the mushroom monster, splitting it in half. Right after Ori tries to bash away, but somehow it doesn't work. The attempt fails as he ends up kicking the sliced creature and falling on his back. Ori stands back up quickly and runs to a safe distance from the others.

The ever-burning blade ignites the remains of its first target. Turning it to dust and incinerating all fungi around.

Ori observes the creature did not spray anything, but would not give it a chance to the others. Noticing the fact he could not bash away means that these creatures have no light within them. So the bash won't be useful here. Then, just attacking and creating distance normally should do.

The other mushroom creatures halt and lay down suddenly. They start to roll towards Ori leaving a taint wherever they pass.

The new situation had Ori thinking about how to strike low, he never practiced this before and panicked as the creatures got closer. He jumps over one and deals a sloppy cut on the creature. This one, however, sprays out spores out of the slash wound and Ori shields his face with one arm. The flames soon ended the creature, but Ori was hit. Upon reaching ground he creates distance to analyze.

The spores started to create roots on his skin soon to begin proliferation, to spread their infection throughout his entire body.

Ori's skin starts to itch at an abnormal level; he uses his ever-burning blade on his arm to burn the spores, burning himself in the process. Luckily the flames did not spread on his fur and skin. Sein's flames are a lifesaver for both burning the spores and not igniting him.

The other mushroom creature comes rolling, this time Ori thinks quickly and strikes low, doing an upward vertical arc; immediately jumping away to dodge another possible spray.

The last comes rolling like the others, Ori does a leap over the creature, this time much more balanced, and does a deep cut. Finalizing with a graceful landing.

The assault was over, for now, Ori had to press on and follow the memories, or ghosts. The place still had the pretty fungi illumination aiding his vision but would not drop his guard and risking to breathe them. The spirit edge is simply a blessing in this scenario.

Ori runs ahead, where the children had gone. He goes through turn after turn and reaches a new area. It looked like a leisure area. Dead trees with swings and huts were all around, at least for what could be deduced by their shapes. Small homes, all abandoned, a shadow of what it once was. A melancholic view…

Ori had no time to lose, but checking the huts, they had similar ornaments hanging around. They were all very similar to the same ornaments Ori had in his home. Could one of these huts be her home? The first home of Naru? Diving in thoughts Ori feels like tearing up but stands strong.

He searches the area, looking for the memories. The shrooms are all around but have not uprooted themselves just yet. Ori decides to strike them before they could do anything dangerous, and so he does.

The shrooms squeak loudly in a distorted tone, uprooting themselves and shortly dropping lifeless due to the flames.

The flames spread through the dead grass momentarily, reaching other shrooms in proximity. They will reach the huts as well at this rate; Ori decides to step over the flames to extinguish them. Their memory is not to be thrown away, they should be preserved.

"Naru, catch!" A girl said.

Ori looks around and spots the children again. They were playing 'catch the ball'.

They throw the ball to one another, and one will try to pick the ball from them. Naru and one spirit tossed the ball to each other, and a male spirit was in between, trying to snatch it.

"You'll never get it if we toss it high enough, Eki" The female spirit mocked the boy.

"Just wait and see!" Eki replied confidently.

"Sol, here it goes!" Naru announces a greater toss.

"Wait, Naru!" Sol replied.

Looks like Naru tossed the ball too far. The boy takes advantage and runs so fast in its direction. Ori was impressed by the surge of speed the boy could run.

"I caught it!" Eki laughs joyfully, announcing his victory. "You two lost!"

Sol sighs. "Aw, if you toss the ball that far away he will catch it every time."

Naru chuckles. "Well, at least he gets to play too, right?"

"Alright, you two!" Eki pulls their attention. "Who will be the catcher this time? I vote for Naru!"

"Oh no, I am not good at running! Let's leave Sol to be the catcher."

"I too vote for Naru!" Sol said smiling

Now Naru sighs defeated, she soon smiles at them and accepts the challenge with a nod. Eki notices the ball vanishing from his hands, he does not seem worried by that and just looks at Sol to say something.

"Hey Sol, we need a new ball." Eki informs

"Ah, sure thing." Sol creates a new ball using her light.

Light-bending… The surge of speed, the conjured ball… Its light-bending techniques! How? They're children, and still have learned how to light-bend? Ori then remembers, sometimes, it doesn't require training or practice, but a passion. Fil and Leru were like that, they just loved something specifically and developed techniques upon such activities. Reem had to train to create the bash, Tatsu had no ability that Ori could recall. Then… Does Eki just like running? And Sol, creating objects? Ori was immersed in thoughts, placing one hand on his chin.

"Naru!" An angry and thunderous male voice filled the place.

Ori gets startled by the voice and assumes a fighting stance. Upon analyzing the figure, it was also a memory.

The children get scared of the male who just spoke. They become silent and cower in fear. Naru stands up and runs to the male figure. It was an adult urseia.

"Dad, please don't be angry! We are just playing!" Naru talked to her father.

"I already said it to you, Naru! No interacting with the spirits! It is forbidden!"

"But why father? They just want to be friends!"

"No discussions! If you keep disobeying me, I will make you regret for these spirits!"

Naru is picked up and carried away. She waves to Eki and Sol saddened. They were all sad for their friendship to be prohibited for no reason.

They were separated for now. Ori watches the whole scene and feels so bad for the children. Eki and Sol walk away to somewhere. The memory dissipates.

Where should Ori go? To the direction his mother was taken or after the spirits? Uncertainty strikes as the wish to see his mother again grow stronger than anything else. Ori goes after his mother. Navigating through the valley of memories…

Approaching a passage leading downwards, Ori notices an exit with daylight, going ahead he hears the outside world... birds singing, the sound of the sea. Upon walking out, Ori finds a shore.

The Sun was still high, possibly midday. Ori steps on the sand and feels the warming light of the sun on his fur; seemed so long since he last took a bit of sunbath. The sea alone created a beautiful view, one that Ori never saw before. It was amazing, and even more, the shore had trees around, on both water and land. Bulky trees with thorns all over their trunk. These are not ancestral trees, they did not find their end in this shore.

No mushrooms were in this place also, and as Ori explored the shore slowly, more huts could be found…

"What are going to do today, dad?" Naru asked

Her voice, Naru's voice… Upon seeing a new memory, Ori started tearing up.

"Ah, what about carving new charms? Or just relaxing on the shore?" The father replied.

"Can I introduce you to my friends?" Naru asked hopefully. Maybe he would be kinder today…?

The father sighs. "Naru, I am not allowing you to stay with spirits, period."

"They are not bad, dad. They just don't have anyone in this place. They are so lonely…"

Naru argues with her father, what never brought her any fruits despite her efforts. The father's reasons to be unfriendly to the spirits were unknown. Bias? Racism? Hatred? Pride…?

The discussion went on and it soon became painful to watch. Naru never had advantages in their fights. Due to the father's authority, Naru was either ignored or denied.

However, the little Naru never gave up on hope. She kept in contact with her friends of the light. Almost every day, the memories have shown, Naru sneaks from her home to meet the spirits without alerting her father. She would create an excuse to leave and make him not worry about her. Such as "playing with others of our kind".

Time went on and everything ended being alright for Naru. She kept their friendship in secret. However, one day, she stopped visiting them. What happened? She spends many more days with her father in her home. She spent all her days from this point forward with her father.

Concern filled Ori regarding the spirits. Why did Naru stop visiting them? Naru was now an adult, and the day of her father's passing arrived. Naru gathered her things and mourned for her father. She then left. She left and never looked back…

The memory dissipates. The spirits, what happened to the spirits? Ori rushes back to the cavern, this time he would search for Eki and Sol.

...

Mother, why have you never visited them again? What happened? On my way back, new fungi tried to stop me but I just cannot wait any longer. I must find them at this instant! I cut the creatures and rush in without even bothering with consequences. I was going so fast that I did not prioritize cleaning the spores hovering around. I attacked the air a few times hoping it would be enough. My skin began to itch. In my carelessness, I was hit again.

I hold up for a second, taking my blade to the itching areas. One in my ears, three in my arms, two in my shoulders, and one on my face. I deal with the spores one by one, cauterizing the wounds with the flames. Need to be more careful. It will be for nothing if I end up dying.

Taking a deep breath, I concentrate to hear them. A memory is happening somewhere nearby; I can hear Eki and Sol, they are discussing, both are very stressed.

The fungi monsters just don't stop coming. For Sein's light, I hate these creatures! I open my way more carefully but they appear in greater amounts at every second. Soon I'll be overwhelmed. I then see the walls around, they are all coated in their spores, but I could burn the spores off and climb to a safer area.

This idea was proven futile. More mushrooms appeared from above and they began to spit! I can bash from projectiles!

Their projectiles came in handy as I had to go over the army of mushrooms blocking the path. At each bash I swung my blade around, igniting the spores in the air, the flames will burn everything soon. These creatures won't stand for much longer.

"Why did you do this Eki!?"

That was Sol, she is crying! I look everywhere while bashing from the projectiles. I guard the spirit edge and hold up Kuro's feather to glide over the sea of mushrooms below.

Where are they? I reached a wall and I burned the spores on it. I hold myself in place and scan the area below. The illumination was scarce, but it should be easy to spot them. I dart my eyes to the left and right, up and down. I find nothing. I was getting frustrated, where are they?!

"I just wanted… to find our friend again!" Eki yells crying.

Eki, my ears tilt hearing his voice. He is in pain, struggling. His voice shows remorse. What did you do Eki? Where are you!?

I scout the area further. The Lost Grove was huge and I feared to get myself lost in this place. I could hear their voices, but I can't find them!

"What do I do!? Someone help me!" Sol called, desperately

I could find the direction the call came. From above…? I check the area and come up at the bottom of a small hill. I finally found them… Their trees, they're atop the hill! I glide and cut the spores all over the place and open my way to climb there. Their light was very visible, just like Salendis said. Why did I struggle so much? They were just atop that hill, the entire time.

Their light kept the infestation at bay. I climb and finally, I finally reach them. My heart ached once more knowing that something happened to them… Why was Sol calling for help? Why did Eki feel so much remorse? I have to save them! I have to save their souls…

The ancestral trees were intertwined. Their trunks are wrapped on each other…

They were together, until the very end…

I hesitate to proceed... Am I prepared for such a thing? I truly don't know. Still, I can't just wait here. I go forward, touching their trees… to awake them...

I lay my eyes over them for the first time. Two children, just like me, but far younger… They are frightened, they hide behind their trees...

I could hear them crying with each other in hiding. I give them time, for as long as they need to calm down.

Wondering if I were intimidating them in any way, I sit to appear smaller. I was quite taller compared to them and remembering how afraid they felt of Naru's dad, I decided to sit to reduce my height.

Not much later they peek at me. Every time our eyes could meet they hid for a few more seconds, I decided to ensure everything was okay…

"Eki, Sol," I called them. "my name is Ori. I am a spirit like you two." I said calmly, trying to soothe their troubled minds.

The boy, Eki, slowly leaves his hiding. His ears perked and raised slowly, I noticed he held hands with Sol, who was still hiding.

Eki analyzed me from top to bottom, acquiring interest, and losing his fear.

"Yo-you're one of us!" Eki said to me, almost not believing his eyes.

His expression showed so much pain, but his eyes sparkled like he finally found hope.

"We're not alone anymore…?" Sol asked Eki, scared of the unknown.

"Come, Sol, don't be scared. I bet he's a friend!" Eki said to her, pulling her lightly.

Sol slowly reveals herself and glares at me, her ears perk and droop many times. Seemed she was conflicted, she wanted to believe that I am a friend, but what looked like trust issues held her back.

"Hi Sol, it's a pleasure to meet you." I greeted her.

She looks at Eki and his eyes tell her to have faith. She grants me a chance…

I invite them to come closer using my arms to sign them to approach. They were eagerly seeking comfort. Seeing them so insecure almost made me lose my composure. I must not cry, I will be their bridge to hope. I will not waver.

They hesitate to approach. I was still not convincing enough.

"Don't be scared, I want to be your friend." I said to them, thinking now to start a conversation...

"Eki, why are you two atop the hill?" I asked, seeking to know them better.

"This is our home." Eki replied.

"Our refuge!" Sol said.

A refuge, a haven they made for themselves. The hut was made with stones, straw, and sticks. A small fort, their small home. I could tell that they tried to copy the design of the urseia homes below, they had done a great job. Unfortunately, their ancestral trees ruined a good part of their home.

"I see." I said, impressed. "You two did incredibly well. I could never build a home like that."

They stared at me and to my burn wounds, they were slowly letting go of their insecurity.

"You two live by yourselves over here?"

"Yes, but we always wanted to live with them." Eki replied.

Them? He meant the urseia… It hurts to think about why they were treated with such disrespect among them. Why were the urseia so unfriendly? I really wanted to know.

"But why didn't you?" I asked knowing it could hurt them.

And it did hurt… Eki shows much sorrow but doesn't back away.

"We don't know!" He said, so unstable. "We only wanted to be their friends...!"

"They did not allow you two to live among them, right?" I asked, calling forth their memories.

"They didn't." Sol spoke. "Every time we approached they shunned us out. Like we were some kind of monsters." She teared up.

"We once tried to build our home close to one of them… But they destroyed it in front of us! They said it would bring disgrace upon them!" Eki said already so heartbroken.

"That's why you two came to this hill..." I gathered their knowledge.

I may never know the reason for such disrespect… I decide to stop stirring their feelings and painful memories… I then remember one more thing… one thing that would have a positive impact.

"But you two did find a friend, didn't you?"

They tear up even further… Maybe it wasn't as positive as I thought...

"Naru…! I miss her so much!" Sol sobs.

"Tell me more Sol. Who is Naru?"

"Naru was the only one of them that didn't treat us badly." Sol continued, stepping closer to me.

"She was a good friend and played lots with us! We liked her so much." Eki said, also coming closer.

"I see." I was almost tearing up. "She was like a shiny star in the darkest night, right?"

"She was the best!" Eki told me.

"Naru was the kindest!" Sol added.

I had to ask...

"Did something happen to her?"

They pause momentarily.

"She one day never visited us again. They all became very weird suddenly…"

"What do you mean?"

"We don't know… but these glowing spots appeared everywhere. And they became much more hostile than before. We haven't left our home since then." Sol explained.

Glowing spots? It must be the spores… They were safe up here? So Naru could never leave the safety of her home. That day, she braved the infestation and reached Sein for a cure? it became slightly clearer… but still, what happened to these two?

"Friend, do you know where Naru is now?" Sol asked me.

Oh, mother, I need your guidance, what can I say to your old friends?

"I even tried to find her!" Eki said loudly.

"Eki, please don't." Sol said to him.

Their emotional state becomes too overwhelming and they burst out their sorrow. I watched them discuss… it sounded just like… in the memory…

"We had to do something! At least I had the courage to step forward!" Eki yelled.

"You did nothing! You only got yourself in danger!" Sol yelled back.

"I just wanted… to find our friend again!"

It became clearer once again. Eki ventured away… He searched for Naru… The longing bothered him, and he would wait for her no longer. Then… he just went the wrong way…? My mind raced. Sol was calling for help desperately, he was suffering from something… I watch them discussing again and notice something on Eki's shoulder… A spider bite…

My heart nearly shattered. He died of poisoning…

What about Sol…? She…

…!

I should not have asked that… The fragments of their memories that I saw, made sense… She ended alone in this hellhole… she would not stand it… That ball she could create… was not just a simple ball… but also... a bomb…

...

I wanted to collapse.

Mother, please help me… I cover my eyes and clench my teeth... crying in silence for their cruel fate. Why did it have to be like this? Tears pour from my eyes uncontrollably. They continue to discuss, I have to calm them down.

"Enough!” I yell standing back up.

Just like in the earlier memory, they cower in fear.

"Eki, Sol… Please don't fight anymore… You two went through enough."

They stay silent watching my tears run down my face. I walk up to them and kneel.

"My mission was to come here and find you two, to rescue you from this place.

"Do you know why?" I pause. "Because I am the son of Naru. I am here to take you back to her." I gave them my smile, my most heartfelt sympathy… even when I wanted to break apart.

Their eyes sparkled hearing my words, they had no reason to believe… but my tears were more than enough truth.

"You know where she went?" They asked me.

"I do. Please let me take you to her. She misses you two so much."

Eki and Sol look at each other and hold hands. They were one step away...

"Eki, Sol, don't feel sad because it's over. Smile, because a brand new beginning awaits." I nearly shattered again.

I opened my arms, inviting them for a hug. Their long-sought of comfort stroke stronger than ever. For dealing with so much unfair prejudice, I open the door for them...

"Allow me to show you two... Our new home, our new refuge."

That was the breaking point. I could hold on no longer. Each one of us was crying our hearts out… They did not waste another second. They entered my range and embraced me with everything they had.

"Welcome home, Eki, Sol." I closed my eyes and embraced them back.

I held them tightly into me, and they returned the same affection. Unleashing all their accumulated sorrow and despair throughout the years... A simple hug, a simple gesture of kindness, a moment that I wanted to last indefinitely… Their lament slowly became calmer and calmer. I could sense… their concerns, problems, and fears, all leaving their souls as they embraced the peace and comfort they sought for so long...

My beloved mother… Thank you for making the difference in the lives of these children… Thank you, for smiling at them when no one else did… I don't know how their leaves found their way down here, but their suffering came to an end at last.

...

From atop the small hill, a shockwave of light travels through the Lost Grove, wiping all infection, decay, and spores. Their love for this vale was so great, that even during the short lives they had, they missed the urseia that walked the land. They missed them all, their unnamed family…

They were Eki and Sol, the children of piety.

…

The light settles down… Their trees bloom with white flowers and their light is no longer here.

I grasp my chest, still so pained.

"Can I collapse now…?" I asked nobody.

Still kneeling I lean my head towards the floor. So much pain, my heart could not take it. I felt my strength wavering… I... have not rested a single moment since I arrived… I also used the spirit edge for so much time… My body began to push me into the inevitable rest I so needed. I couldn't fight it… I close my eyes, and my mind flows away…

...

…

...

*Head pat*

*Head pat*

I feel someone stroking my fur… Who is it… Where am I…? I was very comfy and still sleepy. My body did not want to wake up. My eyes would barely open and all I saw was a campfire, everything else was a blurry mess. I am still on the Black Root Burrows it would seem.

*Head pat*

*Head pat*

The touch on my fur… I felt it before… It is so warm…

"Mom…?" My voice did not come out.

*Head pat*

*Head pat*

Something is supporting my head, it's very fluffy, it makes me snuggle in it. I am laying on someone's lap.

*Head pat*

*Head pat*

No… I must wake up! Wake up! I want to wake up! My body won't move…! I began to shake slightly trying to awake.

"Hm, maybe you are feeling cold?"

That voice… Ario! It snaps me out of my comfort and I awaken. I get up immediately and take a short distance before the pain from my burn wounds stops me.

"Woah there. Why did you wake up so suddenly?" Ario asked, surprised.

The pain was so big, I tried to crawl further away from him. I hear him sighing, feels like he is laughing at me!

"Are you trying to run away? I am here for you, you know?" Ario said in a tranquil tone.

"I will not fall for your lies again! You betrayed me! I thought you were my friend!" I said conflicted. I turn around to face him.

He smiles kindly, stepping closer to me.

"So, I'm not your friend anymore? Would an enemy treat your burns?"

I then noticed leaves were wrapped in many places of my body, in each burn I had. The leaves covered a gel that was planted directly on the affected areas. It smelled bad, and it was itching a lot.

"Aloe vera. An effective healing plant for first and second-degree burns. It is anti-inflammatory, promotes circulation, and inhibits the growth of bacteria. I recommend not touching it, even if you feel tempted to. Soon it will ease the pain and you'll feel better." Ario explained.

"Why are you helping me…? You betrayed me!"

"You think so?" He approaches further, and I can't crawl away anymore.

"What have you done to Sein!?"

"Sein is waiting for you still. She's on the Zephyr, on your bed. Right where you left her resting."

He crouches at my side when close enough. His usual confident and fearless look was now a mix of pain and relief.

"Crawling will make things worse, you still need to rest." He tried to pick me up.

I use any remains of my strength to slap his hands away.

"Stay away from me! Or I will kill you!"

"Look at you… saying such harsh words. Seems you changed a bit. Still, it doesn't suit you, my guy."

"It's... all your... fault…!" My strength falters even to speak.

"Yes, I guess it is… Say, if I die, will it fix everything?"

His question surprised me. I widened my eyes stunned. Why would he say that?

"I made you go through a lot, haven't I? I'm sorry Ori, but it was necessary… I could see how you are an adult in the body of a pre-teen. You proved your valor and passed my test. You saved the children and purified the Lost Grove. You fought your way through pain and gave affection to those who needed it.

Ario reaches for my hand and takes it towards him.

"But, if you still seek redemption. All you have to do…" He placed my hand on his chest.

"...is to seize it. Right here, right now."

My hand placed on his chest was a sign.

"Do it, Ori, summon your blade. Avenge yourself."

Closing his eyes, Ario awaited Ori's decision.

Ori could not believe his eyes, he froze in such a moment.

It was a moment of solemn.

A moment of truth.

A moment, frozen in time.

...


	17. A Tranquil Sound

It was a moment of solemn.

A moment of truth.

A moment, frozen in time.

…

*Silence*

Several seconds pass. The suspense builds in until Ario decides to speak again.

"What's the matter?" Ario asked. "Summon your blade."

Yeah… asking such a thing is too heavy for him. I opened my eyes a little to glance at his shocked expression. He has my life in his hands, my heart in his aim.

By simply summoning the spirit edge, it will solidify piercing my body. My heart is right in the mark… Part of me knew that he would not do it, but the chance was still there. In an ultimate test of mercy, I would be able to reach him. If he hasn't lost himself to vengeance, I may live.

"Why…? Why did you do that?" Ori asked about that moment.

He was shaking. His kind nature and momentous rage conflicted. The memory of what I had done deeply hurt him.

"Be true to yourself, Ori." I said to him.

He was very weak and emotionally fragile, he just had a breakdown for light's sake. I can't keep pushing him or he will pass out.

I do a relaxed sigh. "You know, you can always tell it all to Sein later, and she'll punish me. Weren't you curious to know her punishing methods?"

Another couple of seconds pass and Ori pulls his hand away...

He gave up on his rage. With a very pained expression and tears rolling down his face, he forgave me for now.

"I h-hate you…" He said sobbing.

I breathed in relief, my life was spared. Oh Ori, even if you never see me as a friend or ally again, I give you my most sincere affection. Now I have to carve my path back to you, in one way or another.

I bow my head in sign of gratitude.

"Thank you, Ori. Now, let me take you out of this rough floor."

I place one hand behind his neck, and the other below his legs. I lift him and bring him a bit closer to the campfire. I don't have anything soft for him to lay on so my own body will have to do. I sit and allow him to rest upon me. I rest my back on a wall and my chest is used as a pillow for his head.

I take some extra care to not bother his burns and bruises as I wrap my arms around him. He slowly makes himself comfortable.

"How are you feeling Ori?" I asked him.

I receive no reactions from him. He still sobs silently.

I give him a bit more time. Soon enough, I noticed Ori being very quiet. As he rested upon me he did not make a single sound. He was not quite asleep just yet. I wonder what is going through his head right now…

I rest my chin over his head trying to show my affection and to make him feel protected. I expected him to feel good with it, his reaction was however very different. It was something I should have expected to be honest.

He grunts angrily to the slight weight above his head, he gives me a strong headbutt.

"Ow! Why did you do that?" I asked, suffering from the hit. A headbutt from below the chin is crazy painful, holy crap…

"You deserve it!" He said all grumpy.

"Still on that? Want a kiss as an apology as well?" I test his patience playfully.

"Hmph! I will tell it all to Sein! Hope she sends you to a terrible place for your punishment!"

"Oh no, please don't do that, Ori!" I pretended to be worried for my life.

"But I will. You and Layla will atone for your lies."

Now, that's something… Why Layla is involved all of a sudden. Could it be…

"Layla as well? Why her?"

"She deceived me to trust you. All that story was a lie!"

I sigh. Of course, that was the reason...

"Ori, Layla never lied to you. She likes you way too much to do such a thing."

"I don't believe you." Ori replied

"Really? She'll cry if you say that to her. Actually, if you refuse her hug when we return, she'll cry instantly."

"If you have to take anger out on someone, let it be me. Do not hurt Layla, please."

Ori goes silent, somehow I managed to make him reconsider.

I rest my chin over his head again. This time he doesn't headbutt me. So far so good…

We fall silent for a couple of minutes. The night already arrived and the temperature was dropping. We should return to the ship, the others will grow worried soon.

I just want a bit more time like this…

"Ario, would you please let me go." He requested, struggling a bit.

"Hm? Why? You're not comfortable?"

"Let me go..."

"No." I kindly replied.

"Why are you holding me like this anyway?"

"Because I want to. Relax a little now would you?"

He exhales loudly and snuggles back on me. Like hell I would release him, even with the campfire, the cold was starting to bother, so sharing body heat was also important here. He might be getting bored though, so I decided to start a new conversation.

"Hey, Ori, could you tell me how you burned yourself like this?"

He takes a moment.

"Ario, how did you know about Eki and Sol?"

Ignoring my question with another question huh. Okay then, I'll play along.

"That is quite difficult to answer, believe it or not."

I squeeze him a little harder on me

"Why?" He asked.

"Because they were once important to my brother."

He gets agitated by my reply, no wonder…

"Yali? He knew Eki and Sol?"

"No, he didn't. What I meant was, Yali tried to find them in this place but did not succeed."

"So, you sent me to do what Yali could not?"

"Precisely." I replied.

"But why me? You should have done that."

He had a point.

"Me?" I chuckle. "You were far more fitting for it. You know what I mean."

"You guided me halfway there and gave me lots of trouble. I have met a dark serpent and fought through a grove infested by creepy mushrooms. I've met them, I found Eki and Sol, and suffered a lot learning their history… Was all that necessary for me to grow?" Ori asked afflicted

Ario doesn't answer.

He goes silent now?

"Ario?" I called him.

He squeezed me a little more… Did I say something wrong?

"For this question, only you may answer it." Ario replied, somehow sounding quite sorrowful.

Only I may know the answer? I lose myself in thoughts as I snuggle on him further. Yali tried to find them, did something happen for him not to succeed? What could have happened? Somehow something is not in the right place...

Eventually, I placed my ear on a particular spot… one spot that gave me a nostalgic feeling...

*thumb thumb*

*thumb thumb*

Heartbeats...! Oh mom, memories of our time together flood my mind. How long has it been? Over a month? I miss you so much, mom… Miss your embrace, your touch, the nights you allowed me to listen to the most soothing sound in the world.

*thumb thumb*

*thumb thumb*

The sound of a heart beating in tranquillity. The best lullaby that there is... It just works so well… I love it so much. Am I allowed to enjoy this, mom? Should I forgive him too...? I close my eyes to listen…

*thumb thumb*

*thumb thumb*

A feeling of drowsiness soon arrives, inviting me, lulling me into that comfy and cuddly sleep we always had. It's so relaxing and pleasing. This is one of the best feelings in the world.

*Head pat*

*Head pat*

Now he's petting me… Mom, I can't resist this...

I can't…

*thumb thumb*

Wonder what is going on his head right now… Is he asleep? I pet him a few times, he had his eyes closed as well. Maybe-

*Purr*

*Purr*

Wha- Could it be? I take extra attention to listen to the interesting sound.

*Purr*

*Purr*

He's purring?! Oh my precious light, I can't believe my eyes!

*Purr*

Such a cute sound you're making my guy. If Layla could hear this she would melt. I feel so overjoyed for reaching such a feat!

*Purr*

*Purr*

I don't know how I managed to make you purr, but I'll take that. Seems like you fell asleep at last.

"Sleep tight, my nephew. I'll take us back to the Zephyr now."

I believe this is proof that he fully forgave me. You're too kind for your own good, but that's okay. You're not alone on that.

Though the chat was great and I could spend a bit of private time with him, I won't dwell in this cavern any longer. Now…

*Purr*

"He's asleep. You can show yourself…"

*Silence*

The campfire is blown out abruptly.

"...Salendis."

A vibrating hiss echoes from the darkness…

"Archer…"

*Purr*

"I am leaving already, Sally. What do you want?" Ario asked the serpent.

"Isss that how you greet an old friend? Tell me, how fares your noble brother?" Salendis laughs.

Ario frowns with the taunt.

"I have nothing to share with you. Tell me what you want or leave us."

*Purr*

"Archer, you have made a mess in my lair… What shall you do to compensssate?"

"I've cleared the way for my return. Your supply of food is still safe."

"That, and the landssslide you provoked… You damaged my lair..."

*Purr*

"I know you can forgive me, Sally. Now, if you excuse us."

Ario did one step forward and Salendis revealed itself.

"You're lucky, archer… For this child sssaves you on this day."

Ario stares severely at the serpent, not giving any space for Salendis to take advantage of.

"You knew that I would delight in his distress…You used me to entice his rage, to make him more courageous… You're lucky because I failed to make him determined enough to take your life."

*Purr*

"Indeed I am." Ario calms a little by turning his attention to Ori.

*Purr*

"Unfortunately for you, that's not how things work with him. He is a child who just is far too kind for this world. You saw that too right? He also helped you in the process and would do more if you returned the same affection. Because, that's just who he is, a messenger of peace and serenity. The little savior of this land."

*Purr*

Ario gently pats Ori

Salendis hisses uninterested, disappointed.

"Out of my way, Sally. I won't ask again." Ario warns seriously.

"Do not threaten me, archer, I can sssend you two to the infinite sleep of the afterlife… You can't do much with a child on your arms."

Ario enrages even more.

"If you disturb his sleep, I swear you will wish my brother had killed you that day. This time, you won't lose just one sense..."

Salendis saw their aura differently, it boiled and stormed within them. The serpent felt threatened but laughed in response.

"Brave little man… thank the child for your life… for him gave me a whole vale to sssavor...

"Regardlesss… I don't need to waste my efforts here… The dark owl will do this job for me." The serpent keeps laughing. "Archer, you should be careful with that child... he will try to reach the unreachable…"

*Purr*

"What do you mean, Salendis." Ario questions the serpent with a menacing gaze.

Salendis retreats laughing.

"You'll lose again, archer… You'll end up alone, in a world of shadowsss… Again."

Salendis leaves them behind, returning to the darkness.

"Tsk. Talk about a nuisance. Sorry for making you deal with such a creature, Ori."

*Purr*

The sight of the young spirit sleeping peacefully easily relieves Ario's stress.

"I'm glad you were not disturbed. Let us return, shall we?"

*Purr*

"I agree. Let's go."

And so, the Black Root Burrows' journey has come to an end. Resting upon the arms of a great friend, Ori dove into the world of dreams while returning to safety and back to Sein.

Ario walks the path free of creatures, free of obstacles. A path clear from darkness, filled with torches and corpses all over the place.

During the time Ori was on his mission, Ario assured the safety of their way back. For he deserves his well-earned rest and nothing should disturb him. That was a promise made in silence.

Though Ario may have overdone in killing every creature, it was okay. They will repopulate their numbers in time and for Ori, he went through much already. He doesn't need to see the carnage caused here.

Achieving their main objective, Ori could prove his courage and kindness once again. The experience acquired made it worthwhile. The reason, in the end, made it all worth.

Eki and Sol were rescued; freed from their long time torment underground. The light of Nibel grows more powerful with each good deed.

...

With a final step, the starry night skies welcome them. Just ahead, the Zephyr, with lights and beacons shining to signalize its location.

"There it is, my guy. Your provisional home."

Ario awaits a moment and doesn't hear it anymore.

"Aw, no more purring? Layla would love to hear that. That's a pity, but what can we do?"

The cool breeze blowing, the grass below us, the scenery of the Sunken Glades… The fresh air that we now breathe again. It's good to be back to the surface… Let's check on Layla and the others.

Ario speeds up and arrives at the Zephyr. Once there, he needed help to come aboard, calling for someone or jumping there would disturb Ori, so Ario thought of something else. He kneels carefully to support Ori on his thigh while he uses one hand to pick his quill-pen, starting a drawing.

"Spirit Art: Stairs."

The stairs solidified and the path was open. Ario stands back up and Ori's sleep is preserved.

"Here we are." Ario steps on the ship's deck. "Seems like everything is alright over here."

In a few moments, the sound of chit chatter reaches Ario. Seemed like it was Layla, Franz, Daruk, and…

Could it be? Oh… I need to place him on his bed, they will notice me very soo-

"Welcome back!" Layla yells at some distance.

Ario does a silent sign for her to be quiet. The others arrive, and with them, Sein, the wisp of Nibel. Finally, awaken.

"Ario, glad you're back. Glad he is okay." Layla gives her attention to the sleeping spirit.

"Welcome back, captain. Hope your journey with Ori went well and tranquil." Daruk politely greeted Ario

"OI! I MISSED-" Daruk shuts Franz.

"Quiet." Daruk said firmly. "Don't you see Ori is asleep."

"Aye, sorry, sorry. I missed y'all. That's all."

Ario chuckles and turns to Layla.

"Layla, please take Ori to his bed." Ario gives Ori to Layla

"With pleasure~!"

"Just be careful, he has some burns. Don't touch those areas."

"Understood." Layla holds the young spirit carefully, cuddling on him a few times and walking to his room.

Ario turns to Daruk and Franz.

"Pleasure to see you too friends, also excellent work today. You two deserve a rest, therefore, no more orders for tonight. Enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you." Daruk said, doing a bow.

"Thank-a-YOU!" Franz said out loud. "I'm gonna drink all the Hoan wine and nobody can stop me!" He goes out flapping his wings.

"Excuse us, captain, light of peace." Daruk does a bow for them and goes after Franz. "Don't drink it all! Leave some for me!"

Ario finally got a moment in private with Sein, the wisp of Peace and Serenity

"Hello, Ario." Sein floats closer

Ario gives his hand for Sein to land on. She accepts the invite and shines gently.

"Hello, Sein. Happy to see you again."

"Likewise." Sein responded. "Know that I am forever grateful for what you did for us back at the Forlorn Ruins."

Ario sighs flattered. "I promised we would meet again, right?"

"Indeed... Makes me think what were your true intentions that day? You were not just trying to paint a canvas… were you?"

"You know me. And well, let's say I went there, to see his last echo…"

"Oh, Ario... Even after all this time… You know that I can-"

"No need, Sein." Ario commented

"I understand…" Sein replied. "Anyways, I really liked your new friends! Layla has grown so much and looks so lovely! Yet, the bird and yeti are new, why you never introduced them to me?!"

Ario chuckles. "Maybe because I never stopped in Nibel in a long time."

"Hm, fair enough. I bet Ori likes them as well." Sein begins to fly again.

"He sure does. I'm glad he opened up for us. On the day he arrived, he was really shaken up."

Sein shifts to mournful gray tone momentarily.

"Hey, don't feel sad." Ario said. "Each one of us gave him comfort and cared for him. Also, I went ahead and did what you could not. I trained him to learn light-bending."

"I see." Sein pauses shortly. "Well, thank you again. If he could adapt with you, then I'll be happy that he is learning and growing up." Sein gets pensive...

"You'll be impressed by what he can do now."

"Have you taught him about destiny?" Sein asked, pained.

Ario takes a moment.

"I haven't." He pauses again. "Sein, I don't think he needs to know, but I'll leave it to you. Please, protect him."

Sein remains in silence for a moment.

"I understand." Sein replied. "And yes, I'll protect him, if he doesn't protect me now, right?" Sein giggles.

Ario smiles knowing she could do a better job on that than him.

"But anyways, how are his days with you and company?" Sein asked.

"Ah, he is doing well. He socializes with us without any fear. We train together and we give him new things for his meals. So far he didn't dislike anything offered."

"Aw, wish I was here to witness it. What else?"

Ario takes a deep breath.

"As you have noticed, we just returned from an adventure. We spent the entire day at the Black Root Burrows."

"I heard it from Layla, she said Ori was extremely anxious. You took good care of him, right?"

"About that, I can't say I did…"

Ario's mood got a little serious...

"What do you mean?" Sein asked curiously.

"..."

"Ario? Hello?"

Ario slowly kneels before Sein.

"Beloved Sein, wisp of my home, I wish to confess…"

Sein shines a little bit.

"Please proceed. I am listening." She kindly replies

"I had no certainty of how it would end and I still did it anyway. I risked Ori's life!

"I abandoned him at the lair of a dark being. I left him to acquire experience when dealing with danger by himself when I promised that I would protect him. I have no excuses to give! I hereby accept any judgment you seem fit."

*Silence.*

Ario waits patiently for Sein's words, fearing what she would say.

"Ario, can I ask you something?"

While kneeling, Ario kept looking down.

"Of course." Ario replied worried.

*Silence*

Sein circles the area releasing her light like snowflakes. The ambiance soon becomes relaxing.

"Where is the second part of that confession?" Sein asked.

The question makes Ario uncertain of what she meant.

"Light of Peace, I beg your pardon, but I don't understand your point."

"You brought him back, haven't you? Sein pointed.

The question hits Ario deeply and snaps him into the realization there was hope... Peace pushes away his troubled thoughts.

"So I ask you, did you really abandon him?

"Because if you did, would you bring him back caringly in your arms?"

"Sein, I don't deserve any-"

"Ario, please rise."

Ario takes a moment and stands back up, noticing the snowflakes and melodic blue energy hovering around. The wisp of Peace of Serenity already had made up her mind.

"I understand and see everything. You made him go through a lot, and your methods could have been much better planned and executed. You did a fairly poor job but you got the message through. The ends were rewarding, but the means were cruel.

"Don't get me wrong, you deserve severe punishment. I want to condemn you to isolation at the Black Root Burrows. You should live in abandonment at the same place where you practiced said crime. But… Where is the second part of your confession? Please continue."

Ario chuckles without arguments to give. He accepts his defeat and opens up.

"After he had completed the objective of the mini-adventure, I searched for him. As you saw earlier, he has many burns and had an emotional breakdown rescuing Eki and Sol." Ario sounded emotional.

"Once I had him back, I treated his wounds and offered myself for support and comfort. I tried to apologize with my own life and he spared me. We talked a little... he was very angry and sad, and I tried to soothe him the best I could. I even took a headbutt from him."

Ario shed tears with the weight of guilt. Sein shines seeing his honesty.

"Sein, he fell asleep on my arms! How could he do that?! I was not worthy of such sight! After all the stress I made he go through, he still forgave me…" Ario stops talking due to his emotional state.

Sein shines brightly showing much felicity.

"Even after all you did, you sought his forgiveness. You gave the child you mistreated the power to avenge itself against you. I could never picture a villain apologizing to its crimes by giving their own life to make amends, especially to those they wronged. You impress me, you did save him at the end. The means were cruel, however, the ends were rewarding.

"For your heartfelt kindness and commitment to Ori, I hereby redeem you from your punishment and allow you to watch over him as an exchange. Promise that you will analyze first before sending them into darkness, be them friend or foe."

What seemed a storm of grief and regrets rampaging one's mind turned into a soothing ride of justice and renewal to the same. The light of peace rescues a rescuer. Kindness generates kindness.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Ario expresses his gratitude sobbing. "I promise I'll do better!"

"Hey, no need to cry." Sein giggles. "He forgave you, now you have to forgive yourself."

Ario wipes his tears and calms down.

"Thank you once again." Ario said content.

"My pleasure." Sein said. "Now, there is something I need to discuss with you."

"I am listening." Ario replied

"Ario, while I was sleeping, I was visited by him."

"By him?" Ario repeated.

"...Yali."

Ario feels a melancholy of long, long past, but still gets intrigued.

"How?" He asked.

"It seemed I got a tiny portion of his light. Maybe because I was brought close enough to the Spirit Tree. It allowed him to communicate with me during that time"

Ario tries to remember... Sein was indeed brought close to the Spirit Tree. When Daruk rescued Ori, that must have been the moment that it happened.

"His light allowed me to heal faster, and I can fly freely without the need of a spirit to keep my energy for the moment. Still, I know Ori remained close to me, for he believed it would heal me faster."

"Yes, he did sleep with you for many nights." Ario commented. "So, what did Yali say to you? Do you remember anything?"

"Unfortunately, I don't. But I remember a vision."

Ario remains in silence.

"And about this vision is what I want to discuss with you. Probably I should leave this for tomorrow. You went through enough for today." Sein announced.

"I see. Thank you, Sein"

"If possible, I would like your help..." Sein said conflicted.

"Sein, fear not. You have my aid today and always. All you have to do is to ask."

"Thank you." Sein shines intensely.

"Then it's settled. What will you do now?" Ario asked.

"I think I'll enjoy the night with my dearest. I will heal him and surprise him when he wakes up."

"I see. You do you then. I'll reunite with the crew. Thank you for your time, Sein."

"Don't thank me yet dear. For there is much to be done."

Ario bows and they separate. Sein finds her way to the room Ori was taken to. Once arriving Sein pushes the door open and after so long she was eager to satisfy the longing. Layla was right at his side.

"Hello, Layla." Sein greeted her.

"Oh!" Layla stands up. "I have made him comfortable, lady Sein. I'll be leaving now."

"No need to call me lady. Just Sein is enough."

"Okay, thanks lad- *Ahem*, thanks, Sein."

"You can stay if you wish." Sein said. "I would love to hear some more of you."

"It will be my pleasure Sein. It's an honor to have a wisp interested in me."

"So tell me a bit more about Seil, how is the wisp of Ingenuity and Spontaneity been doing?"

"Ah, it's been quite some time since I was last in Kainar, so I don't know much. Seil is still the same you may remember, always active and talkative. Always sharing thousands of plans and ideas for new constructions. She always tries to make her watch over the desertic forest a bit more fun for herself. Even if it results in some annoyance for a few."

Sein giggled. "I remember Seil being the most creative and enthusiastic of us. She is the embodiment of eagerness of Sei after all." Sein comments

"Yeah! That's just how she is." Layla smiles.

"Now Layla, be honest to me, what do you think of this little spirit right here?" Sein hovers above Ori.

"Oh, I envy you so much, Sein. I fell in love the moment I saw him. I want him all for me."

"Hey, don't be so selfish now. We can share." Sein argumented.

"I lack cute things in my life Sein. During most of my days, I lose a bit of my feminine side by traveling with those guys. I just want something cute to hug sometimes."

"Oh." Sein felt bad. "Well, I have some good news for you, when I return to my tree, he probably won't care for me anymore so he'll be all yours."

"Oh no, don't say that Sein!" Layla said embarrassed. "I am not that desperate. Don't say that he will abandon you. We can't be certain.

"But thank you for the kind words. Your reputation surely lives strong!" Layla smiles lively

"Well now, I'll leave you two to rest. It was a pleasure Sein. See you tomorrow."

"Likewise, Layla. Have a good night."

Layla leaves the room and Sein flies closer to Ori.

"Hello, Ori. Can you hear me?"

"..."

"Listen, I want to sleep wrapped on your tail."

"..."

Sein giggles. "Well, I tried."

Taking a look on the young spirit, Sein could feel the pain he had gone through. Bruises and burns were in many places of his body. It was impressive that he could sleep.

"Sorry, Ori… for not being able to protect you that day... I will heal your wounds now, so you can have an even better sleep."

Sein keeps her word and heals each area affected.

"Glad you're safe and sound." Sein shines a little bit. "Can't wait to feel your hug tomorrow."

Sein flies around searching for an opening for her to sleep with him. She inserts herself in a space between his arms and fits there just right.

"It's good to be conscious to enjoy another night with you. Sleep well, my beloved spirit."

...


	18. Serenity and Fortitude

The day dawns and the light of the Sun come through the window. The clarity slowly awakens Ori…

With a yawn and a good stretch, Ori awakens but remains laying down. He was lost in thoughts, remembering…

Where am I? I remember I was at the Black Root Burrows and… Ah, I think I fell asleep, I listened to… Oh no, this is so embarrassing! I shift from one side to another and notice a round object in contact with me. It had a smooth surface and warm energy emanating from it. I take a look at it and notice it is Sein. Oh, I was brought back here, glad I slept with you… I missed your protection back there.

I hold her and stare into her calming light...

"Hey, Sein, can you hear me?" I asked, wondering when she would wake up.

I don't know why I keep talking to her if she's not awake. But it's been quite some time already, I miss her…

I brought her closer and soon an urge to give her many cuddles hit me. The urge was so, so big. I just had to do it.

I rub my cheeks on her repeatedly as I feel a longing to hear her voice. I felt a little crazy and kept rubbing my face on her

*Purr*

*Purr*

"Hey, Sein, do you like it when I do this?" I kept rubbing myself on her.

"Yes, I do." She replied.

"Oh, that's good to hear…" I said while purring

Wait…

"Sein?!" I change from cuddle to alert mode.

"Hello, dear." She shined a little bit. "You're extra cuddly today huh."

I had a moment of shock and I jumped out of my bed. The surprise shakes my entire being. It's really her! She's awake!

"Sein!" I called tearing up.

"Yep, that's me!" She goes up and down.

"Sein!" I called again, going forward and grabbing her.

"Please, just don't squee-

I pull her into a tight, tight hug. The tightest I could do! I could not hold myself. I was so emotional! Memories of the moment she hurt herself protecting me come back and the frustration also was revived. I want to redeem myself and this hug will be the first step to it!

Oh, Ori, you embrace me like it's something so natural. I love it, but at the same time hate it… Innocence can be a blessing sometimes, just like you, my dearest spirit.

In much of my time's past, I would never receive such a caring hug like this. Thank you so much.

"Sein! Sein! Sein!" He called to me multiple times, spinning in the room so overjoyed.

This is just priceless, I couldn't refuse such a hug in a thousand years. I want to make you happy. I made a promise, right?

I just pray, that I never have to break your heart.

"I am so sorry!" He stops spinning and makes eye contact with me.

"I have promised to become better for you! I did many things! I ran a lot, trained, battled, reflected... I- I missed you so much!" He said aloud, letting out his feelings.

"Ori, you don't have to apologize. It's not your fault." I said to him.

"But…"

"It never has been your fault. Give yourself the recognition you deserve."

He gets so pensive. He will not forget what happened that day... I could fix that, but I won't hurt him in order to heal. I will instead cheer him up. So he may not stir painful memories.

"Ori, I see you marked me." Sein said softly.

Ori's ears perk hearing that.

What? I marked? I tilt my head confused.

"You don't get it, do you?" Sein asked.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked worriedly.

Sein giggles and shines. I don't know what I ended doing earlier, I just… wanted to do it.

"I just wanted to do it…" I said shyly.

"That is okay! I won't lecture you." Sein replied. "But let me tell what that movement usually means."

I listen carefully, something tells me that I screwed up.

"Very few spirits realize this, but they all have feline-like instincts. The cheek rub you did, is a friendly and caring gesture they do for those they love.

"By rubbing their cheeks on others they leave their scent on them. It is a mark they leave on who they care."

Ori waggles his tail wildly. He appears extremely shy.

"The meaning of that mark is to offer protection and company when they're far apart. A symbol of devotion.

"Do you get it now?" Sein asked

"Ahn… I…" Ori blushed. Not even making eye contact anymore.

"Cute, isn't it? Spirits kinda do it automatically in a simple hug. It happens naturally, so it's really rare for someone to know the meaning of such instinct."

"I… I ma-marked, you?" Ori asked, stuttering. Feeling his temperature rising.

Sein observed him almost curling up in embarrassment and noticed his tail waving non-stop. She flies up to him and bumps gently on his forehead, saying softly...

"I love you too, Ori."

Ori turned red and steam could vent out of his ears at any moment. So much pressure that he turns around and runs out of the room.

Sein chuckles.

Well, at least he is not sad anymore, and I won my first teasing game! How cool is that? I should mention later that I made that all up, actually, partially made up.

Nah, I'll leave it like that.

In a way, I like how honest he is, but wonder if it is okay for him to be so attached to me. I don't know if I should have told him all that...

In the end… I am no different than them…

…

Rushing through the inner suits of the Zephyr, Ori creates distance from Sein to calm down.

He goes through turn after turn, completely mindless, running without stopping. Until he comes across someone. Ori forces a halt in his frenetic speed, avoiding bumping on Layla

"Oh! Hi Ori, why the rush so early in the morning?"

Ori panted intensely and it intrigued Layla.

"Why are you so red? You got a fever?"

"No, it's not that!" Ori said panting. "I just, just started jogging! Yeah!"

Layla approaches more.

"You never did that before. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes! I am!" He pants. "Don't worry about me!"

Layla finds his behavior suspicious.

"Okay, let me check your temperature." Layla moves one hand closer to his forehead.

"No no no! Don't need to do that! I am okay! I swear!"

It didn't help, Layla would soon touch him and Ori was still embarrassed about the chat he had earlier with Sein. He slowly stepped away.

"Ori, why don't you let me check you? What's the matter?"

Ori turns around and begins to run again. Such behavior amuses Layla.

"So, you gonna play the hard way huh? Alright, I'm up for a game of tag." Layla makes a runner pose.

"Spirit Ignition: Enhancement."

...

*Pant*

*Pant*

Okay, I lost her. I speed up even more as I try to find a hideout to calm down. My mind races remembering that moment, that bump, those words! I am freaking melting! What the hell just happened?! What is happening to me!?

I arrive at the deck and the sunlight nearly blinds me. Okay okay okay, I have to calm down. I slow down a bit to catch- *Gasp!*

"Got you!" Layla arrives grabbing Ori in a surge of speed.

"Bet you didn't see that coming, did you?" Layla laughs.

Now holding the young spirit, Layla had the power to check him. Ori struggles and tries to break free.

"No Layla!" He yelled

"I can tell you're burning hot just by holding you. Now let me check you…"

"Let me go!"

Ori breaks free before Layla could check him and creates a great distance in a blink of an eye.

"Woah- What the!?" Layla gets surprised.

Ori runs away.

"I don't know what you just did… but the more you struggle, the more interested I become!" She glows intensely.

The chase begins.

…

"Uh, why are these two so agitated this early…?" Ario asked, hearing the noises of Ori and Layla running around.

"Welp, there goes my sleep."

Ario gets up and does a routine of maintenance on the Zephyr. Going to check the forge of light, the propellers, the machinery and gears, the illumination, and finally stock of light crystals. The ship hasn't taken flight since they landed on the Sunken Glades.

No issues were found and they had no problems to fly again, the forge was working properly and the tank was full for emergencies.

Arriving on the deck, Ario sees that Franz and Daruk are still asleep. They got high on beverages yesterday and probably will sleep a lot more.

"Hm, where could Sein be?"

"I'm here!" Sein spoke, pulling Ario's attention.

"Hey there. How was your reunion with Ori?"

"Oh Ario, I think I made a mistake!" Sein shines.

"Hm? What happened?"

"You see… I made Ori a little too excited and now he is running around like crazy."

"Wow, I knew he would get happy seeing you again, but not at that level."

Sein flies in circles.

"But why is Layla chasing him?" Ario asked.

"She is? I haven't noticed it."

"Look there." Ario points to them from higher ground.

"Oh! Looks like they're having fun!" Sein observed.

"I wonder how it all began…" Ario said.

Sein flies in circles faster.

"He is quite red as well. Is that a fever I see?"

Sein goes even faster.

Strange, observing the two running, I could clearly see Layla using her enhancement; Ori should have no chance of running from her in that state. The enhancement is a significant boost to her agility.

But It's no use, she will catch up.

Layla catches up and she is surprised yet again by Ori getting a great distance in an instant

Oh, I see now… I don't know what made them run like that, but that's how he is managing to run from Layla. He is using Eki's dash. Very interesting that he's already practicing.

Ario turns to Sein.

"Hey Sein, can I ask you something?"

Sein stops flying in circles.

"Sure thi-thing!" She said dizzily.

"Has Ori made any questions to you?"

"Questions? No, he hasn't. Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing, just asking for curiosity."

"What questions would he ask?

Ario takes a moment…

"About the Urseia. Well, he was on the Lost Grove after all. He also said to me that his mother was one."

"Ah yes, he was adopted by one. Her name was Naru."

"Interesting, I have never seen one urseia before. Also, that Naru did a phenomenal job parenting him huh. To think of a spirit being raised away from the Spirit Tree…"

"It's rare indeed, but that day his leaf was blown away by the storm of that night. If Naru didn't exist, Ori would not be here today."

"Thank the light for Naru. She raised him well." Ario said

"And Yali, for you." Sein shines a little bit.

Ario remains in silence, observing the chase.

"Don't be like that, Ario." Sein bumps on his shoulder.

"I am fine Sein, you speak the truth. However, I feel I lost my way at some point… I forgot the words Yali said to me that day."

"…"

"How long has it been? I can't even remember that day properly… and yet, it still feels like it was yesterday."

"Please, he would never want to see you like this."

"Sein, I carry it with me every day and every night; this woe, this anguish... These guys that travel with me, they don't have the acknowledgment of it."

*Silence*

"Hey Sein, do you think anyone knows my age?"

Sein lands on Ario's shoulder.

"Not even time may heal everything. You need to take a step forward dear. When this is all over, I want you to visit him."

"Sorry, but I can't do it."

"You think so?"

"I do."

Sein shines a little bit.

"Very well then. I'll wait for you, for as long as you need."

...

The chase went on. Both Layla and Ori grew tired with the frenetic running.

They dash from end to end on the Zephyr, jumping over Daruk many times and doing parkour over many obstacles. They had fun with all the rush but Ori soon became exhausted. He gradually lost distance and speed. In a moment, Layla catches up and firmly hugs him from behind.

"Finally got you! You can't escape my love!"

Ori breathes in pants without the energy to offer any resistance.

"Layla… no…" He said, so tired.

"You certainly gave me some workout, you little hurricane~."

By just holding him, Layla could feel an interesting pulse from him.

"I can feel your heart beating from any point of your body! Why is this making me love you even more?" She hugged him tightly, placing her head over his shoulder.

"Don't mark...me…!"

"Mark you? You were my mark from the very start~!" Layla replied purring, squeezing him lovingly.

"Oh right, you could use some water. Let's go to the kitchen and get some."

Layla takes Ori to the desired place and gets some refreshments for both of them. They sat by the table and rested.

"I forgot to check you. Since we ran so much it's natural for you to be hot right now. But, my intuition says that you don't have a fever."

Ori makes eye contact with Layla with a shy expression that confirms her theory.

He chugs on his cup of water.

Aw Ori, you're making this too easy. I guess you still don't understand such feelings. I look at him with one hand supporting my head while he drinks his water so quickly that he ends up choking for a moment. It's funny to see his embarrassed face. I could have never imagined that the reddish face of yours would mean that at first glance.

I wonder what Sein said to you. The two of you have been venturing together for quite some time right? I don't have any right to judge what you feel.

Alright, I chose to not bother him any longer. I'll let time teach him those parts of life, maybe it's for the best. Still, what is that "mark" thing he spoke earlier? For him to be like this, so agitated with heart racing, I bet it means something... Okay, a bit of teasing because I am curious!

"Ori~" I pulled his attention. "What is that 'mark' thing you spoke earlier?"

He breaks eye contact!

"It's nothing!" He replied.

It's something very romantic it seems! Oh my precious light, I wanna hug you again! I take a deep breath to ease my eagerness.

"I see." I said, closing the matter. "Well, It's almost time to prepare lunch for you and the others."

Layla waves and goes to gather ingredients to cook. Ori thought he had upset her as she suddenly lost interest. He goes to her and gives her a little poke on the arm, pulling her attention.

"Sorry if I made you sad, Layla. But I am fine you see? There's nothing to worry about."

"Ah don't worry about that, I'm glad you're not sick." Layla smiled at him.

"It was a fun race though! I liked it!" Ori said excitedly.

"Aw, I loved it too! Let's do it again sometime!"

Ori quickly rejoiced to Layla words

"Yeah! See you soon Layla."

They wave and Ori decided to play with something else, he soon wanted to see Sein again and tell her many stories of the time he trained, and one memory, in particular, struck him. He had a very important question to make...

…

Ario and Sein talked for a little while and soon Ario remembered something of importance.

"Sein, what was the vision you spoke about yesterday?" Ario asked.

"Ah, I guess it's time. Let's reunite everyone to hear it, for it is of utmost importance." Sein replied.

Ario sighs. "Alright, I'll call them. Wait here, Sein."

"Okay!"

Ario goes out to call the crew members and Ori soon arrives.

"Hey, Sein!" Ori called.

Hello, Ori! Feeling better?"

"Yes, I just had a fun race with Layla! I spent almost all of my energies there!" He said content.

"That was a good workout huh? Glad you liked it."

Seems he already forgot about the conversation from earlier. He's looking much more bright and happy, that alone is a victory. All that running allowed him to vent the emotions out.

"Sein, I need to ask you something." Ori said, quite serious.

Oh, is that about what Ario spoke earlier? About a question he would make me? Well, I don't have much info to share of the urseia, but I will try.

"Is it about the urseia?" I asked.

"No, not about that." He replied.

Sein went silent, seemingly to be in a thoughtful moment.

"Ask away, dear." I said to him.

I somehow got so tense waiting for his question. Is that why Ario asked me in the first place? Don't tell me...

"So, during my days here, I got to know everyone here including Ario a little better. And guess what? Ario has a brother named Yali!"

Ah, I see now…

"You see, it seems Yali has gone missing and Ario is searching for him. That's why he travels the world he told me."

Sei, grant me your wisdom…

"I wanted to ask you if you maybe would have any clues of his whereabouts?"

"Unfortunately I don't have any at the moment, Ori. As I am not with the Spirit Tree I can't say if he's in Nibel. Once our journey is over and our forest restored, I may be able to help you."

"I see… Thank you, Sein."

"You're welcome. I'll do my best to help in this search. For now, Ori, I wish to ask for your company for what is to come."

"What do you mean?" Ori asked.

"We ventured a lot in such a short time, haven't we?" Sein shines a little bit. "We restored the element of waters and winds. We brought the necessary order back to Nibel, facing many challenges and difficulties."

Memories of the journey so far appeared before his eyes.

"You met many spirits that you carry with you, made good friends, and carved our path to victory time and time again. You've grown, that is certain, and all the knowledge you gathered will be crucial on this final journey.

"The last element. The element of warmth awaits us. Within Mount Horu, rests our final objective."

"Mount Horu?" Ori repeated.

"The volcano of Nibel. It houses the element that controls the chaotic forces inside it."

"Hey, Sein." Ario and the others arrive. "We're here."

"Oh, just in time!" Sein said, flying over to Ario and hitting him on the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" Ario scratches his head.

Sein shifts to a grey tone momentarily. Ario crosses his arms doing a "Tsk."

Sein then focuses on her message.

 **Sein:** "Thank you all for coming here. I wish to share important information with you all."

 **Daruk:** "I am always listening." He bows.

 **Layla:** "Is something wrong? I feel so tense…"

 **Franz:** "Huh, it smells troublesome to me."

 **Ario:** "Guys, let's hear it please."

 **Sein:** "What I wanted to share here is a vision I had during my slumber."

 **Ori:** "Oh, so you were dreaming lots! I was curious to know that!"

 **Sein:** "I wished it was all a dream, dear. What I saw, is something destined to happen."

 **Ori:** "That's cool as well. What did you see?"

Sein takes a moment.

 **Sein:** "The end of Nibel."

 **Ori:** "What?"

Everyone except Ario is taken by surprise. They stay silent showing discomfort.

 **Ario:** "As expected. Well, for those who don't know Mount Horu is a volcano that houses the element of warmth of Nibel. Simply put, It must be restored."

 **Sein:** "Precisely. However, I am not sure what state Mount Horu is today. The situation there must be alarming. In my vision, I saw the volcano erupting and burning the whole forest while the skies were painted in black. Simply put, it will be the end."

 **Franz:** "Whoa there, hold on squork. If I got that right we will restore an element that is in a volcano, now… how can we get close to a volcano in activity?"

 **Ario:** "So we should scout the area for information. It's true, the temperature in Mount Horu is not for anyone. Daruk for example won't be able to stay there."

 **Daruk:** "He speaks the truth. My kind is much more efficient in cold environments. I unfortunately will only weigh everyone down in such a place."

 **Layla:** "But what do the black skies mean?"

 **Sein:** "Kuro. She knows that we will appear there."

 **Franz:** "Aye not mate! I pass this one! I ain't going to that place! NEVAH EVAH!"

 **Ori:** "Me too! I don't like that idea!"

Ori takes a moment.

 **Ori:** "But I'll do it for you, Sein."

Sein shines a little bit.

 **Sein:** "Thank you, Ori."

 **Sein:** "To those involved here, I wish to ask your help. I need to cleanse the element and return to the Spirit Tree. Only then the forest of Nibel will be restored."

 **Franz:** "That's a big no from me yo! I already burned enough feathers recently!"

 **Daruk:** "For much as I wish to be helpful. I may not withstand the weather of a volcano. I am sorry."

 **Layla:** "Things are going so fast, I am honestly quite lost here!"

 **Ori:** "Sein, I wanna tell you my stories! Do you want to hear it later?"

Ario facepalms.

 **Franz:** "I am allowed to refuse! It's my right and nobody is telling me otherwise!"

 **Ori:** "You can't believe what I learned to do, Sein!"

 **Sein:** "Dear, we're trying to discuss here."

 **Daruk:** "Perhaps there should be another way to get into that place?"

 **Layla:** "Franz, you know that the final decision is Ario's alone, right?"

 **Franz:** "Hah! He has nothing over me! I can beat him on a duel without problems, unlike you squork."

 **Layla:** "What did you say?" She asked with a lovingly smile.

 **Ori:** "Come on Sein! I wanna talk more to you."

Ori reaches for Sein.

 **Sein:** "Please wait a moment, Ori. Things are getting out of control here."

 **Daruk:** "Yeah, Sein is right. Captain, may I?"

 **Ario:** "No need. I will deal with this."

Ario draws and blows a horn made with light bending. Everyone goes silent and focuses back.

 **Sein:** "Listen, everyone, I know that I have no right to demand anything from any of you, and I won't force anyone. I know what I ask is hard, but I need help. This will be more difficult than anything Ori and I faced before."

Sein pauses shortly.

 **Sein:** "If your choices have been made. At least help us to get to the top of the Sorrow Pass. I beg you."

Everyone stays silent.

 **Sein:** "There will be the artifact, the Sunstone that opens the chamber where the element rests within Mount Horu."

*Silence*

 **Ori:** "You have my aid! We've been together for so long. I can't wait to show you what I've learned!"

 **Ario:** "You have me as well. Nibel is my homeland and I seek to see it restored!"

 **Layla:** "I will join you too. I couldn't refuse a favor from you, Sein."

 **Franz:** "You guys are crazy! You will all die! We should just abandon this land and go somewhere else. Friol is a nice place to take a vacation y'know?"

 **Ario:** "Franz, you're coming with me."

 **Franz:** "Pff, ya can't force me mate. Ya can't stand the might of Franz the Phoenix! Glowy ears, grant me your aid!"

 **Sein:** "The Phoenix?"

Sein giggles.

 **Ori:** "Ahn, I guess I could show you to explain."

Ori summons the spirit edge, a blade made of light energy imbued in the flames of purification.

 **Sein:** "Ori! You learned how to summon a spirit weapon! That is amazing!"

 **Ori:** "I know right? It also has an additional thingy on it. It has your characteristic flame!"

 **Sein:** "Indeed! How did you inherit my flames?"

Ori makes an embarrassed face.

 **Ori:** "Aha… Well, let's say that I ate and absorbed your light."

 **Franz:** "Fear me now! I am invincible!"

Franz sets himself on fire.

 **Franz:** "Come on! Give me a hug! A bear hug!"

 **Ario:** "Nah, I'm fine. You can stay where you are."

 **Franz:** "Let's make it like a cheer for our friendship! Don't be scared!"

 **Ario:** "I see you're already training to withstand the heat of Mount Horu. You please me, Franz, it's good to have such a trusting navigator."

 **Franz:** "If you're not coming, I'm going to you! Prepare yourself! It will be quite hot, I warn you!"

Franz laughs nervously, obviously not enjoying being burned alive.

 **Daruk:** "Forgive our friend's behavior, Sein. He's quite a figure."

 **Franz:** "Watch and learn Layla. That's how ya insert dominance over the captain!"

Franz chases Ario around trying to hug him.

 **Sein:** "Shouldn't we stop him?

 **Layla:** "I say let him burn." She said seriously

 **Ori:** "He could end up really hurt."

 **Layla:** "That's the point!"

 **Sein:** "I still want to see it as a friendly hobby among you. Please don't hurt yourselves over petty reasons."

 **Layla:** "If he dies, he dies."

 **Ori:** "Layla, you're scaring me."

 **Layla:** "Aw, I'm sorry Ori. Come here you cutie~." She grabs him

Sein sighs with the members diverging their focus and not paying attention. She flies up to Daruk who was the only one behaving.

"Hey, Daruk, forgive me if I scared you."

"Don't worry, Sein, I am rarely scared. I just fear I won't be helpful to you in this scenario."

"It's okay. It's rare for anyone to withstand the climate of a volcano, and Mount Horu is no exception."

"There are species that can live close to one?" Daruk asked.

"There are. In Nibel, two sapient life forms live on Mount Horu, but just one is friendly.

"Those are the Fire Nymphs and the Flametongue Ogres."

"I can clearly say which is the friendly one." Daruk said.

"I know right? I hope they are all right. I fear that they had to flee because of my absence. Some animals have adapted to live in that climate as well. As for the situation there, much could have changed…"

"I know for certain that everything will be alright. We will find a way. The Earth Mother always grants new paths for those stuck. One just needs to look for it."

"I see…" Sein shines a little bit

The pursuit of Franz the Phoenix went on, pulling Sein and Daruk's attention.

"Why are you running?! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!" Franz yelled at Ario.

"Maybe because you're on fire? Maybe you want to stop this nonsense and get yourself healed?"

"Give... me… hug...!" Franz slowed down.

Sein intervenes and takes the flames out.

"Thank you, Sein." Ario sighed. "He is just a feather head sometimes. Forgive us."

"I… gonna get ya… next time!" Franz faints.

"Are you okay?" Sein asked Franz.

"..."

"Looks like he passed out. I'll heal him."

Sein heals the humorous bird, restoring his feathers and consciousness.

"OI! I feel so good!"

"You should be more careful Franz. You're no phoenix to set yourself on fire like that." Sein lectured him

Ario tries to contain his laughter.

"Listen, Franz, maybe I could make your feathers glow in the dark if you helped me. What do you say?" Sein made an offer.

"Eyy sounds cool. I'm sold."

That was easy!

"So you're gonna help us?"

"Aye!" He puffs up his feathers.

"Good to know." Ario said, coming closer. "I need my navigator to guide us through the storm that awaits us."

Ario and Franz shake hands.

"Heh, ya can't live without me squork. I'll make an exception this time."

"Finally you've all ceased that childish behavior." Daruk said. "We need to refocus on our plans to aid Sein."

"No need to plan anything." Ario said. "I already have everything set."

"I would love to hear what you have in mind." Daruk said, curious.

"Sein, everyone here will help, you have my word." Ario bowed to her. "Franz will be our bait to distract Kuro."

Sein shines brightly and Franz faints again.

"There is still much to discuss. Before sharing my plans I will scout Mount Horu and see the current situation there. This will give me some time to nitpick some loose ties in my strategy."

"Information is the mightiest weapon, after all." Daruk said. "I agree with the captain's choice."

"But Ario, how are you going there? Shouldn't we use the Zephyr?" Sein asked.

"No, the ship will draw attention. I have other ways, Sein." Ario picks his quill pen.

"Spirit Art: Wind Board."

A board with a sail and a propulsor is created.

"Oh wow, I always forget you have this ability… I'm glad you never stopped drawing." Sein said.

"This is something I could never forget." Ario replied.

"You can fly with this?" Daruk Asked.

"Yes, I can. As long as I can maintain it with my own energy, that is. Also, it requires some fuel." Ario inserts a light crystal on the propulsor's tank.

"That is Impressive! It is kainarian craftsmanship, right?" Daruk asked, stunned.

"It is." Ario replied. "I'll be doing the reconnaissance and meeting you all on the Sunstone."

Ario positions himself on the Wind Board, holding on the sail's handle.

"Daruk, please awaken Franz and set course to the top of the Sorrow Pass."

"As you wish. Please be careful there."

"Sein, I need to ask you to aid Ori to practice more. He still has one ability that he doesn't know how to use."

"Understood." Sein replied. "Are you sure you have enough fuel for that trip?"

"I do. There's nothing to fear."

"I still wonder how I can be of use." Daruk commented.

"When I return I will share my plans. Now, wake up this bird and take a course to the Sunstone."

"Have a safe trip. Do not face any unnecessary danger." Sein said worriedly.

"Rest assured. I'll be going then."

Ario starts the engine and flies out to his objective.

"Well then, how can we wake him up?" Sein asked.

"I have the perfect solution." Daruk replied.

Daruk whispers something to Franz.

"Don't call me Kako!" Franz awakens yelling.

"Welcome back! We need to fly now."

"Aye, flying is what I do... Which way?"

"We shall head west, to the Valley of Winds and from there we can fly straight to the top of the Sorrow Pass." Sein informed.

"Fine, let's-a-go then."

"Thank you, Franz." Sein circles him playfully.

"Aye, you're welcome."

...

The Zephyr took flight and set its new course. In the meantime, the crew members had their lunch and then focused on the new task ahead of them.

As Franz and Daruk discussed their way on the ship's wheel, Sein left them with the coordinates and went after Ori to do what was asked; to teach him new tricks.

After a bit of search, she spots him and Layla playing with a ball of light, tossing it to each other.

Sein observed him, thinking to herself...

I knew he had gone through a difficult moment all by himself in the Black Root Burrows. I could expect the struggle to get over that to be much greater. I guess I was wrong… That's a relief. I see Layla took the lead once more.

I'm so glad you've made such great friends, my dear.

Sein kept watching him while lost in thoughts. It didn't take long for Ori to notice the wisp's presence.

"Hey, Sein!" Ori waved. "Look at what I can do!"

Ori holds an orb of light. A ball that Sol could create.

"Hi, Sein!" Layla greeted her. "Ori was a bit sad earlier and wanted to play with that ball. I couldn't refuse you know?" She makes an adorable expression with one hand on her cheek.

"I see. Thank you for your help, Layla." Sein replied.

"No need to thank me! It's my pleasure~!"

Sein felt pained but had to call him for duty.

"Ori, I know you're having fun, but we need to get you ready."

Ori took a moment, realizing the playtime was over.

"Is it that important?" He asked, bummed.

"Hey hey hey!" Layla stepped up to him. "No sadness on my watch!

"Sein is calling to you now. Don't forget we can always play more later. If you do keep that sad face, I'll chase after you again~." She gives him a light poke at the nose.

"Okay." He smiled. "See you soon, Layla."

"Bye bye~!" She waved.

Ori and Sein then go to a more open area on the Zephyr to set in motion a new training.

"So, Sein, what are we doing?"

"Do you remember the spirit that had this ability?"

Ori looks to the orb he held and could remember it very clearly.

"Yes... Sol could create this ball."

"I'm sorry for what you had to go through, but it made you more powerful. I wish to teach you how to use the Light Burst properly."

"Light Burst?" Ori repeated.

"It is both an offensive and utility ability thanks to the Bash. As you may know, that ball is also explosive."

Ori remains silent with drooping ears.

"The concentrated energy there can create a spark and force the light to combust and explode. It can only happen if you so wish. So be careful to not explode it by accident."

Ori looks worse, he remembers the pain and despair of Sol's last moments. Sein, realizing this, flies up to him and bumps on his forehead once again, shining kindly.

"If you get sad, so shall they. You did all you could. You saved them."

"I know… I just feel sad for them. At least my mother eased their pain a little."

"Indeed she has, and so did you. They will always remember her kindness, as well as yours."

Ori remains in silence, almost tearing up.

"It's time to take a step forward, dear. Remember those who have passed and they shall forever live on."

They remain in silence and Ori seems lost in his thoughts. Sein once more wanted to cheer him up, but nothing came to mind. Such events always have been impacting…

As difficult it could be for probably anyone, it would always result in the same outcome for him. Perhaps he hasn't gotten over it just yet. After all, it all happened yesterday.

"Do you want me to call Layla?" Sein asked.

He takes a moment.

"No need." He replied. "She already put up enough with me for today."

"For Layla, there is no such thing as enough time with you. You know that right?"

"I know." He smiled shyly.

"Then, shall we begin?"

"Yes, I'm all ears!" He answered content.

Sein flies around rapidly. She creates many targets using her light.

"Now, for your first exercise, you will practice your throw. Hit these targets."

Ori observes the targets around…

"Okay!"

"Remember to make the orb burst. You can create a gesture to make it easier, like a snap of fingers or any hand gesture."

Ori dives in memories of the events in the chamber of winds.

"Oh, just like you could do that time?"

"That's right." Sein replied.

"You know, you were really pretty like a spirit." Ori commented.

"Why, thank you." Sein said flattered. "That form you saw is the ultimate state of a wisp. When we have the light of our Spirit Tree, we change our form to empower ourselves.

"My appearance is of a female spirit since we are known to be female worldwide. I also like to have a body very much."

"You should be able to keep that form indefinitely!" Ori said.

"I'll be able to do that once I return to my tree."

Ori thinks for a moment.

"Hey, Sein, what will happen after you return to your tree?"

"I will be able to restore the forest to its former glory, of course."

"Not that." He replied. "Will we be able to stay together?"

Sein pauses and the silence worries Ori. She remembers being asked a similar question back at the Forlorn Ruins.

Sein transforms into her spirit form and raises his chin with one hand to make eye contact. Ori is immediately stunned by her beauty and his mind gets cleaned.

"Do not fret, my dear. Everything will be alright." She said ever so gracefully.

Ori couldn't contain himself from gazing deep into her eyes. Her light blue pupils glowed with pure energy that moved in a calm undulating pattern.

Sein pulls him closer until their foreheads touch.

"Do not lose yourself thinking in the future, it will make you waste your present."

Completely speechless and stunned as he was, her words entered his mind like a pacifying wave that flows everywhere so gently, calming every worry and stresses.

Sein takes a bit of distance and goes back to her wisp form.

"Now, let's focus back shall we?" She solicited.

The peace of mind he had flowed away as he regained control. He takes several seconds to snap back to reality and feels unsatisfied by Sein becoming a wisp again.

"I want to see you as a spirit more!" He requested.

"Right now, I need to conserve this energy for the upcoming events, okay?"

Ori crossed his arms and pouted.

"Go on, hit the targets."

As time went on, Ori practiced how to use the Light Burst and Dash more properly. He managed to get a good aim in a few attempts and learned how to bash from the orb as well, allowing him to use it as a movement tool.

He also learned how to dash forward while in the air and felt proud of making good use of his most recent gifted abilities.

The night then arrived, Ori and Sein had finished their training with really good results from the very start. It was impressive to see Ori with such control over new abilities. Sein did manage to calm him after all

The crew reunited in a living room and just talked for entertainment as no other tasks were left. They await the arrival of Ario while Franz takes the Zephyr to the top of the Sorrow Pass.

 **Ori:** "Sein, what is the Sorrow Pass?" He asked intrigued.

 **Sein:** "It is a path that diverse creatures made while digging inside the mountain of the Valley of Winds"

 **Daruk:** "I bet it was insects. The huge type"

 **Layla:** "Wow, I can imagine that getting to the top of that place must be difficult."

 **Sein:** "It is indeed, Layla. The passages are filled with deadly spikes and unstable energies that erupt from the mountain's interior."

 **Daruk:** "So glad we have an easy turn around to evade that!"

 **Ori:** "Is that mountain the one we ventured already?"

 **Sein:** "It is. Remember the moment we found Kuro in the valley? The path leading upwards did not end in that zone we got. It goes much farther up, in a series of mazes and hazards like I said earlier."

 **Ori:** "So glad we can evade all that!"

 **Daruk:** "I hear some true words there, Ori!"

 **Sein:** "Indeed. It's all thanks to you guys. You have my gratitude."

 **Franz:** Oi guys, we have arrived." He announced.

Everyone celebrates yet another tranquil course to their destiny.

 **Ario:** "And so did I."

Everyone gets surprised and celebrates again. They all welcome the captain.

 **Franz:** "Ya stole my moment you squork!"

 **Ario:** "I'll share my reserve of Hoan wine with you later for the good work. Now don't whine"

 **Daruk** : "So, Ario, what news do you bring?"

Ario takes a moment. creating suspense.

 **Ario:** "I hope everyone had a great day… Because tomorrow, we dine in hell."

Franz gets ridiculously concerned.

 **Franz:** "Explanations are very welcome! Thank you!"

 **Ario:** "We are going to the devil's throat."

 **Franz:** "You're not helping!"

 **Ario:** "Do you have any last wishes?"

 **Franz:** "Aye, very funny thanks!"

Ario chuckles.

 **Ario:** "Speaking seriously now, Mount Horu is in a terrible, terrible state."

 **Ario:** "The place has been devastated by the decay. Ghouls, stalkers, and withered ogres roam the place. As for the element, it is creating so much smoke and stirring the molten lava. I can safely say that the decay is forcing the eruption."

 **Sein:** "We don't have much time…"

 **Layla:** "Are we going right now?" She asked worriedly.

The tension increased greatly. All members were in great discomfort.

 **Ario:** "I want you all to rest for tonight. We leave tomorrow on the Sun's dawn."

 **Daruk:** "Understood captain. When will you share your plans?"

 **Ario:** "I'll share it while we are on our way. Now sleep. We will need it."

The crew all move swiftly and go to rest however they're able. Ori however, had anxiety and could not sleep

"Come, Ori, lets us sleep. Tomorrow will be a great day."

"Sein, I can't sleep right now!" He said, nervously.

"Don't be scared. I am here with you."

"But, you heard him!"

"Calm down. Do not give way for your anxiety. Come, lay down on your bed."

Ori lays down and Sein joins him.

"Shh, don't think about anything now. Just close your eyes. Listen to my voice, feel the peace you search within the chaos of thoughts."

Sein speaks in a soft low tone, her words begin to soothe him.

"Flow with me… on a calm current… moving slowly with the waves…"

"It comes and goes, flowing… ebbing… forever… Peaceful tides, forever unchanged."

Ori closes his eyes, falling asleep.

"Together we flow with serenity, smoothly, steadily... Together we enjoy the starry night, flowing to wherever the current takes us."

"Just this moment matters… hear the breeze, the waters… hear them flowing… taking all that annoys, all that grieves away..."

"Let it flow out… Let it flow… Let it flow…"

There, he is asleep. Now it's time for me to sleep too… Good night…

I am coming, Yali. Please, wait for me...

...


	19. Prelude of Cataclysm

While the crew slept, Ario watched the night skies… Listening to the winds blowing…

He could hear light steps coming closer, its style was very recognizable...

"Why are you still up, Ario?" Layla asked.

Ario looks behind him with a kind smile.

"Hey Layla, I am just appreciating this pacific night. What about you?"

"I am still tense. I can't sleep like this." She answered.

"I see, wanna hear my lullaby? Like in the old times?"

"Of course not! I am not a baby anymore!"

Ario chuckles a little.

"Alright, you can sleep with me if you want."

Layla remains in silence, avoiding eye contact.

"Thank you…" She said quietly, blushing a little.

"You're still reserved about that? Don't you remember the countless nights you were too afraid to sleep in your room?"

"I do…"

Ario smiled. "Don't be scared; you know that I don't like seeing you like that."

"I am not scared!"

"But you are." He teased her.

"I'm not!" She crosses her arms angrily.

"Come here Layla, sit beside me." He taps the floor.

Layla hesitates shortly and goes to his side as requested.

"Hmph. You can't always pamper me like you used to do! I've grown, you know."

"What scares you then?" He asked, placing an arm over her shoulder. "Our next mission?"

"Y-yes…"

Ario watches her expression of insecurity, she seems lost in concern for what is about to come. He sighs silently...

"I remember the time we were back in Kainar." He said. "While the Zephyr was built, I remember how much you liked to play with the hard-worked water I brought us, resulting in waste most of the time. Your overjoyed expression in those moments has always been so precious. Did you know I made a painting of such moments?"

Layla blushed even more.

"It's not fair to mention my childhood! You were a meanie too! And you should burn that painting" She said embarrassed.

"Or at that time you tried to bond with the other children of Korios. Ever so shy, you never left me to join them. You stuck with me, trying to fight your fear."

"Okay, I know that. You don't need to embarrass me any longer!"

"Your face of discomfort for being more than 4 meters away from me made the other children call you a cry baby and-"

"I know it! Stop! Please…" She was so embarrassed.

"A flower that bloomed in the desert, embarrassed? They bloom to show their beauty to the world, to both friend and foe, they don't have any concerns. Then why would you?"

"You big meanie! I just overthink a little!"

"As my daughter, remember that you can always take refuge under my 'wing'."

He covers her with a great cloak.

Calming down, Layla rejoices with his words.

"Don't call me daughter, feels weird." She replied.

"But you are, I adopted you when you were just a baby, after all."

"I don't call you father, so don't call me daughter."

"Alright, alright. No need to heat up."

Layla leans on him, reflecting...

"I think I can only be thankful for you dealing with me for so long." She felt free from all tension

"No need to thank me. The pleasure was all mine." He replied.

Layla remains in silence for a moment, she takes a deep breath to gather courage.

"Hey, why do you always isolate yourself?" She asked.

With the topic brought up again, Ario closed his eyes while leaning on her as well

"Why do you hide it?"

"We already talked about this." Ario pauses. "I'm just weird sometimes, you know that."

"Why don't you ask for help?" She asked in a low and serious tone.

"..."

"You are suffering aren't you?"

"..."

"You've always been like this..." Layla felt sad.

"Everything in its time, sweetie. For now, we should prepare for what is ahead of us. Agree?"

"I won't give up. You know that, right?" She replied.

Ario does a short, relieved sigh.

"I know, and I thank you for that. I mean it."

Layla remains in silence.

"Let us sleep while we still can. Come on." He stood up pulling her.

"I don't want to see that painting." She said.

"Then, don't take your eyes off of me, deal?"

"Deal."

…

On the next Sun dawn…

"Wake up!" Sein yelled

Sein tried to awake Ario and Layla while the crew was awakened already.

"Get up you two! Come on!"

They still slept deeply spooning. Layla being the big spoon while Ario the little one.

"You two barely slept huh? I unfortunately have to ruin that lovely moment."

"Hey, Sein," Ori called. "let them sleep, they look so comfy."

"I can't. Today is a huge day and I need everyone ready!"

Ori climbs on their bed and crawls carefully to not bother them.

"Ori, what are you doing?" Sein asked.

Their comfort attracted him; he wanted to join them in their sleep. Ori searched for an opening to fit in, but was unable to find one, so he thought of creating it himself.

"Ori, don't you dare."

Gently, he tries to squeeze in between them to lie down. Little by little he soon slips in and lies down facing Layla.

He purrs in delight while snuggling in. He buries his face on the fur of her chest and enjoys the cuddly warm hug to its maximum.

"Seriously? You're supposed to help me, not join them!" Sein complained.

*Purr*

"Stop purring! This is not the time to enjoy naps!"

"Feels so good…" He purrs.

Sein flew around angrily.

"This is a serious matter! We don't have time to waste!"

A new purr soon was heard; even barely awake, Layla loved the young spirit's presence with them.

"I... I can't deal with this!" Sein flew away at high speed.

Silence and peace returns as the three of them begin to sleep again.

For a small amount of time...

Loud footsteps came through the halls and Daruk entered the room.

"Greeting guys!"

"Do it Daruk!" Sein ordered.

"As you wish." He replied.

Daruk lifts one side of the bed forcing the sleepy trio to roll to the floor, ceasing the purring and awakening them.

Ario yawns and stretches; he looks at Daruk quite pissed.

"Jeez, how bold of you Daruk." He said.

"I'm sorry, but I had to do it." Daruk apologized.

"Ori, was I dreaming or you were purring just now?" Layla asked.

"AHEM." Sein interfered. "Now that we are all awake, on to the strategy!"

…

Awhile later…

The crew reunited to discuss and plan the next mission on their hands.

 **Ario:** "We have the Sunstone, yes?"

 **Ori:** "Yes! It is such a beautiful crystal! You wanna see it?"

 **Ario:** "Maybe later. Franz, set course to Mount Horu."

 **Franz:** "Aye sir!"

The Zephyr took a new flight. Descending from the top of the Sorrow Pass, they make their way to the element of warmth.

 **Ario:** "Listen up, we have little time."

 **Sein:** "You don't say!" She yelled sarcastically.

Ori grabs Sein to calm her. She shines kindly while being held.

 **Layla:** "You had said that there are many creatures of the decay in there. How are we planning this one out?"

 **Ario:** "Our objective is simple, Sein must restore the element. However, this can be too hard for her to do it alone. I wish an escort for her."

 **Daruk:** "So, someone has to get down there."

 **Ario:** "I doubt Sein will have any problems with the creatures, but my fear is if she runs out of energy after the cleanse. She will be overrun. Because of that, Layla and Ori will protect Sein as she completes the task."

Sein notices Ori getting anxious...

 **Sein:** "Fear not, your spirit edge is the perfect weapon against the decay. The flames of purification shall aid you." She said to him.

 **Ario:** "As for Layla, her spirit ignition will offer resistance against the fires of that place. As well as her combat prowess will prove useful there."

 **Ario:** "Are you two fine with this?"

Both of them take a moment.

 **Layla:** "I am! I will do my best!"

 **Ori:** "I… don't know. But I promised so I'll do it!"

 **Ario:** "Good, you three will have a vital part of this mission. Aid Sein and get the hell out of there before it's too late."

 **Sein:** "You couldn't have a vision of the element from above, could you?"

 **Ario:** "I could not Sein, I cannot tell how twisted the element is right now thanks to the smoke. However, I did notice black fires. Does it say anything?"

Sein gets pensive as her light shifts to a grayish tone. She regains herself as Ori holds her.

 **Layla:** "How are we dealing with Kuro?"

 **Ario:** "I propose a play and cat and mouse, just like we did the previous time."

 **Layla:** "You can't be serious, the last time we almost died!"

 **Ario:** "Franz, Daruk, and I will use the Zephyr to taunt and force her to chase us. Franz will pilot the ship, Daruk will use the winds to slow Kuro, and I will face her directly, like last time."

 **Layla:** We don't have the light of the other wisps to aid us this time! Kuro will beat you with persistence!"

 **Ario:** "My arrows without any enhancement will do. As for us up here, our mission is to keep Kuro chasing us at all costs, even if we die for it! If she goes after the others on land, we fail. I don't care if she may destroy the Zephyr, the only thing that cannot happen is she going after them. Was I clear?"

 **Daruk:** "Certainly. The winds shall aid us."

 **Franz:** "I did not like any of that!"

 **Ario:** "Daruk, if the worst happens, I want you to take Franz and flee to safety. Understood?"

 **Daruk:** "As you wish. What about you?"

 **Ario:** "I will be fine. So, this is my strategy. Anyone have any questions?"

 **Layla:** "I am not fine with this!"

 **Ario:** "What worries you, Layla?."

 **Layla:** "You, taking the risk of facing that owl again knowing that we almost didn't make it out last time."

 **Ario:** "I understand your concern, but we need to do this. Because of our last chase, Kuro will certainly engage us, making your mission with Sein and Ori easier."

Layla remains in silence without the means to argue… Even so worried she decides to trust him.

 **Franz:** "I'm also not fine with this, y'know."

 **Ario:** "Shut it, Franz."

*Sad bird noises*

Daruk bursts in laughter.

 **Layla:** "Fine then, what kind of creatures are we fighting exactly?"

 **Ario:** "There are three types of decay creatures that I found there: Ghouls, Stalkers, and the withered Ogres. The Ghouls are short hunchback and faceless creatures with sharp claws, they are vicious and will attack on sight. Find an opening in their recklessness and hold nothing back."

 **Ario:** "The Stalkers are like panthers. They are a mutated feline that stalks their prey until they strike. They are a furtive type of enemy, so I suggest keeping your attention on maximum while down there. Layla, you may be able to detect them with your ignition. You may be able to deal with them as Ori deal with the ghouls."

 **Ario:** "Finally, the Ogres… They are all dead and rotten but still stand up holding huge clubs. They are known for their brute strength and should not be underestimated. They are slow, so capitalize on this, strike the nape of their head and that should put them down."

 **Daruk:** "There is still one point missing. What happens after the cleansing of the element?"

Ario takes a moment.

 **Sein:** "Depending on how energy-consuming this cleansing may be, I fear I won't be able to do much… I may only be able to fly while close to a spirit."

 **Ario:** "Sein must be taken to the Spirit Tree for our success. Layla and Ori will take charge of it, they are the most fitting to move swiftly there."

Ario turns to Ori and Layla.

 **Ario:** You two, this will also be a critical part of our mission. I did not wish to put such weight over you but we have no choices. A word of advice, the decay is relentless, so watch your steps, stop for nothing except to aid your partner. Understood?"

 **Layla & Ori:** "Understood."

 **Ario:** "Then it's settled. Do not let your guards down! Once you two get to land, the decay will get agitated and a race against time will begin. As for us, we will keep Kuro occupied with our lives!"

 **Ario:** "We win the moment Sein is placed in her throne in the Spirit Tree! Mount Horu shall not erupt! We will heal the blindness of Nibel!"

With a cheer for the upcoming battle, the crew prepares themselves. Each and everyone with their fears and worries. As they traveled, they could see Mount Horu on the horizon releasing columns of smoke into the air.

Ori and Sein were together discussing…

"Are you ready, Ori?" Sein asked.

"I am." He replied somewhat uneasy.

"Rest easy, for you are not the scared little spirit I first met in the Sunken Glades. And more, we are not alone in this."

"Yeah…" He looks behind him. "Thanks to you and everyone here."

The time is coming for the battle… I can't contain myself to feel anxious again. Gladly I have Sein at my side again and just her presence is much appreciated. Layla will come with me so it should not be scary.

I can't hesitate, this is a serious battle and I am ready. I try to calm down a bit by walking around…

I could see Ario and Layla talking through a window. They are discussing, Layla had her ears drooping… Sein flew in front of me observing them as well.

"You see, you're not the only one scared here, dear. You've learned about Layla, haven't you?"

"Yes, but I never have seen her like that."

"The battlefield is a scary place, Ori. Layla, even as an adult, has fears like anyone. You're not alone. All we can do is comfort each other for what is to come. We fight for tomorrow, we fight for life."

I felt bad for her and my ears also drooped. We are all together in this, but this feels so overwhelming and stressful. We are all tense to our nerves.

Daruk and Franz are watching the volcano, they look so concentrated… I don't want to talk to them now…

"Remember Ori, the spirit edge is your greatest weapon against the decay. Strike true and without hesitation. What we may find down there does not belong to this world."

I nod to Sein and summon my blade to look at it for a moment. My sword training was so short… I believe I should have learned so much more if not for such circumstances.

"Sein," I called. "why is that my blade has your flames exactly?"

Sein observes my blade for a moment.

"I am not completely certain, but you did absorb a great amount of my light, Ori. I too, believe that by consuming my light made you develop that trait, I can say that because no other spirit had such privilege."

"It feels too weird!" I said embarrassed.

She giggled. "Well, I couldn't just let you starve and become feral, could I?"

I didn't realize at the moment, but I had a shy smile on my face.

"I guess I should thank you for all those fruits." I said with gratitude.

"You're most welcome, my dear." She shined a little bit

"A piece of advice, Ori," Sein said. "the flames of purification work mostly like a normal flame; however, it's one of the few flames that can burn the vile mass of the decay and also inflict more damage to creatures affected by it. It is not a miraculous tool, so do not completely rely on it. Use my power, but don't expect it to do all the job."

"I see. Thank you, Sein." I answered her advice.

After a while, Sein and I fell silent as we approached ever closer to Mount Horu. Throughout the minutes passing by, I stared at it, inevitably creating tension for myself. I showed clear signs of discomfort, such as shaking and sweating from anxiety. I felt nauseous, I wanted to throw up...

"Hey, Ori." Sein called.

Her call interrupts my malaise. I give her my attention.

"Hope again." She said shining.

I look perplexed as her words could have meant much more than I understood.

"Say it with me! Hope again!" She said louder.

"You want me to say that?" I asked, still perplexed.

"Yes, say it!"

"Why?"

"Believe in me, come on!"

Even perplexed as I was, I did as she asked.

"Hope again…"

"Fiercely!" She said enthusiastically while circling me.

"Hope again."

"Louder!"

"Hope again!"

"Even louder!"

Following Sein's behest, I ended up yelling those words and it drew the attention of everyone. I was embarrassed and angry but soon I realized what Sein wanted… It seemed to have broken the tension over our shoulders.

Ario, Layla, Daruk, and Franz approached us. They were all intrigued by me yelling those words and they did the same. "Hope again", two simple words said aloud turned everything brighter. They laughed together and such a moment was so good to see. It seems like we are just enjoying a normal day.

"Hope again!" We all shouted.

The rallying cry boosted our confidence. Fear was nowhere in our hearts. Sein granted us all peace for what is to come.

It felt incredibly good to just to shout with everyone. We are ready. The time comes as ashes start to rain upon us.

The blue skies burn and become reddish. We arrived at Mount Horu.

"Layla and Ori," Ario said. "I forgot to mention, but If anything goes wrong, I want both of you to abandon Sein and get to safety. Understood?"

The sudden request shook us and especially me, it almost broke the morale Sein built. It made us focus and Sein did not say anything…

"I won't do that!" I replied.

"Sein is immortal and we can restore her later. As for both of you, have only one chance… I will ask again: Did you understand?"

"If Sein shatters, Nibel will be doomed!"

"Did you, understand?" He asked, so serious and demanding.

I felt an anger building before such an audacious request, It is simply impossible for me to agree with it. I wanted to discuss and argue with him but Sein flew in front of me and once again she soothed me… It's not good to fight among us right now.

"Yes..." I replied reluctantly.

"Understood." Layla replied.

Sein shined in gratitude and flew to my arms. She is fine with this? I know she doesn't want to create any unnecessary discordance, but…

Ario and the others moved ahead and I followed them. I went to the edge of the ship to see the land below.

I knew things wouldn't be pleasant to the eye, but a conflagration happened here… Many hectares of the forest around the volcano are gone… Thousands of trees are completely scorched, only ashes and decay reside in this place.

Fear starts to come back, I won't-

"Spirit Ignition: Fire Boon."

Layla touches me and her orange light travels to me.

"Be blessed, Ori." She smiled. "We're in this together."

The fire resistance? She made me stop the flow of fearful thoughts. Thank you…

"Layla, with this the fire can't harm us?" I asked curiously.

"It can harm us, the boon is a method for you to not burn as easily. You won't feel bothered by the heat and will be able to breathe safely within all that smoke."

"This is really useful." I said impressed. "Wouldn't this allow Daruk to get in there too?"

"It would, but it would require quite a lot from me to shield such a big guy like him. The spirit ignition has some extra downsides if used carelessly."

I look at her intrigued, eager to know such downsides.

"You're curious, aren't you? Well, summarizing it for you, kainarian spirits control ignition tactics that burn our light to create diverse types of abilities. As we burn our light, we reach exhaustion much faster. The ignition grants us greater power over other spirits' abilities with the price of our well being.

"Essentially, kainarian spirits may not even fall tired by overdoing themselves, instead, they die instantly."

I got genuinely concerned. I never expected light-bending to be such a double-edged sword for her. It's far too dangerous to use it then.

"This is not fun Layla, you should not go down there. Remain here and aid everyone from safety." I said to her.

"Hey hey, I know the risk I run every day, Ori. I trained much and I can fight anything. I have plenty of time to use my ignition, so don't worry. Ario trusts me and so should you."

"I see." I replied to her explanation.

Daruk would not do well down there anyways, as he is a creature of cold environments. I understand why he wouldn't come and I felt glad that Layla doesn't need to spend a good amount of her light to shield him.

Sein twinkles doing a soothing sound to pull our attention, alerting she wanted to speak.

"I once again want to thank you all for fighting for this forest. You all have my deepest gratitude.

"For your heartfelt gallantry, I shall grant each one of you a wish once this is over. So fight on my champions! We fight for tomorrow! For peace shall reign once again!"

We were Inspired and now prepared. Only the final requirement was left… the bait.

Ario had said he would take care of it, he knew how to draw her attention... He pulled the string of the bow, aiming to the sky and fired a firework that released many bright sparkles with a blasting sound. It was the primary taunt for Kuro

We then awaited…

It took a few seconds for our beloved silence to be destroyed with a piercing shriek reaching us. She is coming.

"Good luck everyone! May the Spirit Tree guide your steps!" Sein gave us a final blessing.

"Before we begin, one more time!" Ario requested.

We gathered our hands while Sein flew to the middle of our circle. We all inhaled deeply...

" **Hope again!** " We shouted with all our might and the mission began

There is no space to be afraid! I am ready for anything! I jump to the burned land below together with Sein and Layla.

We fall at high speed. Closing into the land, I pull Kuro's feather and Layla lands forcefully, sending a shockwave everywhere. It entices the creatures.

Sein transforms before my eyes. I had little time to stare at her as I reached ground level.

"I will clear the way to the chamber! Follow me and don't stop running for anything!" Sein informed us.

"Understood!" We replied.

We dash through the fire and devastated land. The hunchbacks creatures show themselves, growling a terrific sound that almost made my hearing twitch. I summon my blade and dash after Sein.

They barely have a chance to approach as Sein evaporates everything. This part should be easy, Sein will deal with every obstacle.

The creatures prowl on us and try to attack at any chance possible. We spot those mutated felines, they do not fear Sein and jump out of hiding aiming for us, they are quickly burned to ashes in their recklessness.

Soon the immense presence of Kuro flies above us. She leaves behind a thick trail of shadow energy of so much hatred. Heavy gusts of wind strike the land below with each flap of her wings. We halt momentarily to certify if she was onto us.

She goes after the ship... I wish you guys luck!

I watched her fly away, feeling so melancholic…

…

Blinded in rage, Kuro flies towards the Zephyr. A storm of darkness follows her wake; this time, she seeks vengeance from the humiliation of the last encounter.

Ario analyzes the situation as he ponders...

"What a relaxing sight. At least the bait was successful." I sighed.

A very angry owl is flying towards me… I laugh internally, overthinking about my lifetime…

"Captain, we are ready!" Daruk and Franz pronounced.

"Full force ahead! Leave no resources to spare! We fight and die to slow down this owl!" I gave the orders.

Kuro is here to kill us all and I don't know what I can do honestly… Insecurity is now on my shoulders Layla…

"Activating all propulsors! Setting new coordinates to wherever the hell possible! Hold on tight!" Franz yelled.

"May the winds guide us!" Daruk hummed to remove the air resistance in front of the ship.

Her oppressing eyes make me tremble… I honestly would prefer to face a dark wolf, panther, hyena, serpent, fox, or even shark! I highly doubt I can kill a dark owl like Kuro.

I can not cower. It's all or nothing! This is why I became an errant! I gather determination to face the incoming shadow of death before me, charging my most powerful arrow... aiming for the stars…

"Spirit Art: Starfall."

Ario fires an arrow with such force it pierces the sky.

"We should start combat with our most powerful attack, right? I asked nobody. "It saves time and it suits your lazy lifestyle..."

A bright spherical meteorite falls at enormous speed. A star, carrying its overwhelming light, falls directly on Kuro.

In a powerful gleam, everything in miles around went white.

Sein protects Ori and Layla as Ario creates a cover for the intense flash for Daruk and Franz.

"Daruk, prepare the winds! Use all currents blowing to our advantage!"

"I'll create something strong enough to hinder her! Give me a minute!"

Humming a melody, the winds obeyed.

The powerful blast of light, darkened. Soon it turned black with only her eyes being the white of that once powerful explosion.

"I hope that at least has hurt!" I shouted to Kuro.

She absorbed the light and turned it to darkness! She flies within a huge black cloud and we cannot see her body any longer. She is painting the scenery in black, just like in the vision…

That monster… You're telling me that not even the light of a star did damage? I fear Kuro is no longer an owl… She became an avatar of vengeance, just like you said, Sein.

…

"Archer, you should be careful with that child... he will try to reach the unreachable…"

…

A random memory of Salendis strikes suddenly... that serpent, another damnable creature. I honestly pray that Ori doesn't do anything stupid.

Kuro speeds up, approaching the ship. I infuriate over her pressure and the memory Salendis just adds fuel to this fire within me. I need to buy time for Daruk.

"Spirit Art: Explosive shot!"

I fire a new arrow directly towards her. Once it gets in enough range I order the arrow to explode in many lesser arrows of light., I doubt if anything can cause damage to that thing. I just want to slow it down.

Additionally, I have something else while the explosive shot is still in play. I quickly climb up to the ship crow's nest and pick my quill pen.

"Spirit Art: Boulder!"

It may not look like much, but a boulder of her size should be efficient. I draw it high up and the boulder falls. I aim the trajectory and calculate Kuro's speed to make sure it could hit her.

The boulder goes through the dark cloud and just falls. It didn't hit her? Don't tell me…

We heard her loud screech and the ship shakes with an impact. She has struck the left side of the ship with her talons and would soon strike again.

"Heavy damage to both left propellers! Losing flight stability squork!"

"Use the auxiliary boosters to keep balance!"

"Aye, sir!"

Unbelievable, that cloud was a distraction! I was attacking a mass of dark energy!? How!? When did she move like this!? I panicked, unable to understand how she was on our port side.

"Are you ready yet Daruk!?" I asked boiling in adrenaline.

"Just a little more!" He concentrated.

I reposition myself to combat Kuro. That cloud is still behind us but I decide to ignore it. Kuro will strike the port side again; I will stop her before she does it! If we get enough time for Daruk to slow her down, we will have an advantage.

I charge my arrows to barrage it over her. As soon I aimed she vanished in a cloud of darkness.

In a fraction of her disappearance, the ship was struck again. The shaking sends shivers of terror through my body. I do a quick search and spot her on the ship's stern. She swapped places with the cloud…!

"Oi guys! She is tearing the ship! Do something about it!"

"We're trying! You start dodging her attacks!" I replied to Franz

"I am focusing on our path! We can use the density of trees in the next area to evade her!"

"What are you waiting for!?" I asked.

"Aye aye! On my way!"

I am completely lost in this situation as I try to understand the game we play against a monster.

That cloud… That cloud is following us as well! She can swap places with it! Fine shadow-bending you've got there!

Kuro screeches and raises her talons for a new blow. Like I would allow it! I fire an explosive arrow upwards aiming for her cloud and then I aim at her. She either takes this barrage or an explosion.

She vanishes as soon as I threaten her. I order my arrow to explode and I hear her screech. A hit! I won't fall for the same trick three times!

She flaps her wings more vigorously, she doesn't want to play anymore huh? Bring it on!

Breathe easy, I can fend her off. Come on… charge every arrow, till the last one!

"Spirit Art: Barrage!"

A volley of arrows is fired at the dark owl. Kuro flies in a zigzag pattern dodging the arrows but loses proximity little by little.

"Let's see how long you can dodge! I have enough arrows to fire for days!"

I said that, but if I keep up barraging arrows like this, I will soon suffer from fatigue.

"I am ready, captain!" Daruk informed.

Finally, there is hope! I pray this is the key to our survival. Both strikes she dealt on us were devastating, I would rather not have a third.

"Go on!" I ordered.

Daruk replied with a nod, he moved his arms to create notes for the winds to play. They gather and twirl rapidly, a great tornado is created at some distance from us.

"Push her into the vortex!" Daruk spoke.

I see, if she gets trapped in that, she will suffer one hell of a stun! The winds sucked the dark cloud. She won't be able to swap positions with it, this is our chance!

I charge a new arrow, another of the explosive types. I take aim one more time...

"Spirit Art: Concussive shot!"

The arrow's blast creates a shockwave of air that pushes Kuro closer to the vortex but it was not enough. She fights off the suction.

I fire another arrow, and another, and another! Pushing her further and further until it is futile to resist the wind.

She is caught and pulled into it. She screeches loudly and the winds take her away. I pray that worked! Now I need to speak to our navigator.

"Franz, do not stop! This isn't over yet!"

"And when will that thing give up!?" He asked.

"It won't! Listen, we need to rest for a moment. Do whatever you must to dodge her! Hold on until we recover!"

"Heh, we reached a good area to play in." He said confidently. "Rest easy captain, Franz the Phoenix is on!"

Good, we managed to hold on to reach an area dense with obstacles. Franz can pilot the ship and evade her. I start to recover along with Daruk.

"Has anyone ever seen a flying ship drift midair?" Franz asked.

"Me neither!" He laughed.

I sigh amused. We are so dead.

We hear her screech, she is already on our tail.

"She already recovered? That is impossible!" Daruk said unbelievingly

"Daruk, prepare yourself, for the worst." I said panting.

"Captain, do not lose faith yet, for our trip is going to be hectic." He replied.

Whatever happens here, we will give Sein enough time.

I hope they are alright...

Layla…

…

Sein cleared the entire path to the chamber of warmth, arriving on its great stone gates. They stop to discuss the next phase to come.

"We are here. are you two okay?" Sein asked.

"I am good." Layla replied.

"Me too." Ori replied.

We ran quite a lot till here, but I am not fatigued. We reached the chamber I believe, a massive triangular stone door halted us and in the middle of it, there was a space for an object to fit in. It's just like the other two times…

Sein is still on her spirit form, which means she still has her maximum powers available. Once she has to return to a wisp, things may get harder. It could happen at any moment.

"I sense a chaotic irregularity inside the chamber, the element is far more corrupt than I expected. The fires are uncontrollable."

"Sein, what can we expect inside the chamber?" I asked.

"I cannot risk taking you two inside there, it's far too dangerous."

"Spirit Ignition: Flame Sight."

Layla's eyes glowed in a bright orange tone. I believe she is scouting the surroundings, searching for other stalkers.

"They are coming again. In large numbers."

Our time is short, we can't discuss.

"Ori, I will go as quickly as possible there to heal the element, await my return here and prepare yourselves to make haste to the Spirit Tree, understood?"

Layla uses her enhancement, she stays ready to battle.

"Alright," I replied. "please, be careful!"

What Ario had spoken earlier still bothered me. I can't abandon Sein, whatever happens!

She uses the Sunstone and the passage opens before us. A searing air blew out of the chamber and I shield my face. I felt burning by just how hot the gust of air was. I then opened my eyes and saw an inferno.

There was absolutely nothing inside the chamber except a sea of fire. How could anyone traverse that place? I understood why she didn't want us to enter there, but this is far too much!

"Sein, you can't be serious!" I said, showing concern.

"Fear not, Ori, I will be fine. Stand firm while I am gone okay? Good luck."

She flew into the chamber and the doors closed. I focused on keeping my ground together with Layla.

"Ori, are you scared?" Layla asked.

"Just a bit." I replied.

"There's no shame in saying it because I am too."

Layla pauses.

"The best offense is the defense, Ori. Watch their movements and respond accordingly."

The growling increased, the faceless ghouls faced us. I had no room for anxiety. More determined than ever I assumed a battle stance, ready to fight.

"Here they come!"

One of them pounced in, and its claw was blocked by my blade. Gladly my reflexes guided me, allowing me to repel the ghoul and while it recovered, I stepped forward, doing a full vertical swing on its torso.

I managed to deal with one, however more are to come. Meanwhile, Layla was dashing around and knocking many of them out. I feel courageous watching her fancy attacks, I gotta keep that up too!

Two ghouls approach to strike from two directions simultaneously. I jump up, getting out of the way and they swipe each other. Clawing themselves as I dealt another clean cut on their heads and bash them away.

More and more of them crawl around us. Watching my steps, crooking their necks in excitement to strike.

They don't take long. I take a defensive stance and one of them charges in. It does a twisted roar and launches its offense. I manage to read its attack, I parry and counter strike, doing a spin around it and I finish slicing its head off.

Even more advanced, I conjure an orb of light and launch it on them, it bursts and knocks some of them while others take the front. Some of them jump to strike from above while others strike from below in a coordinated attack. I leap backward, making them miss their mark and then I dash forward quickly cutting them all.

My heart was beating so fast, but I had no fear. I was impressed by my reflexes. My attacks and movement were also really fine. That training was short but it was effective!

More determined than ever, I can't let pride climb to my head. I remind myself to not let my guard down like that time. I focus up.

Even more of them come forward. Even more growls could be heard further away. This will be long it seems, I will hold our line!

Layla on her side was doing very well too. I had often short moments to glance at her spinning kicks and acrobatic movement. She had full control over the situation, crushing the ghouls' heads under her hooves. She is so serious, quite scary!

The creatures just won't stop coming. I block, parry and counter strike the ghouls fiercely, I had everything under control too. I still have to feel pressured. We won't be overrun!

As I dealt with more and more ghouls I heard another growl, distorted, but different. In a moment Layla zooms behind me and kicks a stalker to oblivion. She saved me from a backstab!

"Watch your back! The stalkers will sneak on you!" She warned me.

"Got it! Thanks!" I replied.

Things got a little more heated. I did not expect that stalker, from where did it come from? How can I take notice before they get close?

The stalkers will take advantage as I deal with the ghouls. I can't move freely, I can't see them… I can only hope to hear, they did a growl quite different from these ghouls. I can distinguish it… I focus even more while battling.

I hear it, the other growl, I jump and double jump upwards to see where they are. I failed to spot them as I fell. I dive in, doing an extended slash, and slam my blade on the ground. The impact does quite a shockwave, the flames of purification spark outwards and catch the creatures, they begin to burn and spread the flame among themselves.

While the flames covered me, I was drowning in worry, thinking if it is possible to break the spirit edge in an impact.

I am forced to focus back, as I hear a new roar. Something heavy sends small quakes though the scorched land with its steps. That sensation is quite familiar…

"This must be an ogre." Layla spoke.

It reveals itself, a large eyeless being with rotten skin faced us. Carrying a large bone club the ogre seemed physically really strong, just as warned.

"Ori, I will deal with the creatures. Can you take down that ogre?" Layla asked.

I took a moment to answer as I watched that thing approaching. I breathe deeply and harden my courage.

"On my way." I replied and charged forward.

I ran in as the ghouls dived on me. I jump over them and bash myself closer to the ogre. Leaping from head to head I get in melee range. I remember Ario advising attacking their nape to inflict damage.

The ogre raises its bone club to slam me down.

"Me, smash!"

I bash to a new direction from one of the ghouls and evade the slam. It crushes many creatures and raises a cloud of dust. I double jump and bash even closer, getting to its backside. I had his nape on my mark, I moved in to strike.

The ogre uses its other hand to shield its nape and I cut its hand off. The flames begin to burn its arm.

"Smash, you! Now!"

At the moment the ogre defended itself he quickly let go of the club for a new strike. Being even so big he had a quick response for me. He turned around and hit me with the back of its fist, I blocked the huge impact and it sent me flying away.

"Ori!" Layla yelled.

"Puny! Weak!" The ogre mocked me.

I crash violently on a tree and remain stunned. Other ghouls dived in to use my weak state as an advantage. Layla tried to come to support me but she's surrounded by far too many. I recover and before even getting up I throw a light burst, the orb explodes creating a smoke cloud. It confuses the creatures and I use that moment to move.

That certainly hurt! I pant intensely after recovering. I can still fight, but I may not stand another hit.

I could hold on and allow the flames to do its job for me? I check the ogre searching for me. The flames are barely burning him! Why? Is he not corrupted by the decay? Why won't the flames combust?

I was clueless, but Sein said for me to not rely on the flames either way. I launch another light burst to bash upward from it. I launched more orbs to keep myself airborne while damaging the decay below me. Kuro's feather aided me to remain as long as possible in the air.

"No fun! Coward!" The ogre spotted me away from its range.

It raised its club and aimed at me. He will throw it! I panicked, I won't be able to dodge that huge thing!

"Spirit Ignition: Scorpion Sting!"

Layla jumps high up and dives kicks on the ogre. She manages to hit its nape on a precise strike. The ogre was defeated as it stopped all movement and fell. After the critical hit, Layla prepares another attack while landing.

"Spirit Ignition: Fire sweep!"

She does a perfect circle with a leg sweep, sending a wave of fire and light that travels like an expanding ring all around. The flame ring kills all creatures and gives us a very welcoming space to breathe.

I could land safely thanks to her efforts.

"Sorry, Ori. I shouldn't have left you alone like that."

"Nevermind that." I replied. "I was careless, I didn't expect it to have such a quick response."

"Kill... Smash... You!"

Another ogre is coming, and with it, another horde of ghouls, minding the stalkers hiding among them.

"Let's fight together this time around, Ori. I will break their defenses and you follow up with the finishing blow, got it?"

"Got it! Ready when you are."

We charge in; Layla does a flashy sliding kick and many ghouls are made vulnerable midair. I dash finishing them before they even hit the ground.

Another moves in doing a wide swipe on Layla but she had a countermeasure; she does a rising kick, lifting herself from the ground and breaking the ghoul's claw. She advances to the next and I finish off the stunned creature.

We zoom left and right with synchronized teamwork, she created openings and I dealt the final blow. The ogre as well was easily countered as it was unmatched to our speed.

We recovered control over the situation and things looked better. The only problem is the eventual fatigue that would cost us.

We had no breaks, no time to slow down. We fought while awaiting Sein's return.

...

"The heart of Horu..." Sein said, analyzing the interior of the chamber.

While traversing the corridor engulfed in fires, Sein met a few of the protectors of the element, fire golems that tried to intercept her advance. They were supposed to be a defense measure to invaders but fought their salvation because of the corruption. Sein disposed them of service and proceeded ahead.

The intense heat would be lethal to anyone, but Sein managed to reach her objective.

Black fires emanated from the heart of the mountain. The decay forced the fires to enrage to such a point, that it cannot be extinguished without the power of the light.

"To think that an element could be corrupted that much… Damn the decay, cursed, and malicious force of this world, you won't have your way in my forest!"

The chamber had an open ceiling, but the skies were covered by the intense smoke column that the element emitted.

"I have no time to lose, I need to prevent the eruption."

Sein flew up to the element and focused up, glowing brighter and brighter for an attempt to douse the flames.

"This may be more difficult than the other elements, but I will heal our blind forest, Ori! I will heal your home!"

Shining ever so brightly, Sein managed to calm the flames little by little in an intense battle of resistance against the corruption.

Minutes pass and the struggle in the fight goes on. Sein had to hurry up, all her allies are fighting on her behalf, only Sein can win the day.

Her efforts start to make a difference. The black flames shrink and calm down. She had a lot of progress, the element was almost healed.

"I can still do much more! Yali, grant me your aid!"

The flames douse further, the smoke emitted almost completely ceased. The skies were visible.

The process was tiring but Sein was almost finished with her task.

The flames were almost extinguished, Sein grew confident.

Sein saw hope…

And hope went astray…

She hears a most unwanted sound… a piercing screech that terrified her beyond comparison.

The dark owl's silhouette travels with the utmost speed within the burned skies. The shadow approached and swooped.

A heavy landing over the element sends a tremendous shockwave through the chamber, pushing Sein away form it.

She denied the sight before her eyes…

Kuro.

Frozen in place, with a torrent of thoughts running rampant, the wisp of Nibel had a problem in hand.

It can't be! My eyes widened with such a horrifying sight before me.

If she's here, that means… No! I denied it. This can't be true! No no no no!

I shook my head in utter denial.

 **"Light of peace, I am here to make you pay…"** Kuro said.

A gravest and dreadful voice the dark owl possessed… Sein felt a crushing and oppressive weight over her shoulders just by her presence.

**"Do you remember it?"**

"Kuro, please I can help you if you just let me-"

 **"Do you remember what you did?"** Kuro spoke slowly.

"I am so sorry…! I never wanted-"

**"Tell me why."**

"Kuro, I never wanted to hurt your children! I beg your forgiveness!"

**"Lies…"**

"I was searching for my child that night! Please I beg you!"

**"I thought you were the best among the seven, I thought you were different... how mistaken I was.**

**"After all I had gone through, I fled to Nibel seeking refuge. I sought to start over, to protect all I had left… I wanted to give them a future!"**

Kuro pauses.

**"And yet again, I am betrayed by what I thought was an ally. The light is as treacherous as the decay..."**

"Kuro, let me heal you!"

Kuro slowly shakes her head.

The terrifying thought of her sudden appearance still crawled on Sein's mind, she had to ask it.

"What have you done to Ario and others!?"

**"It was fun while it lasted. Your child joined the many others of their kind."**

Sein fell on her knees.

"No… I am so sorry!" She cried hopelessly.

**"Still, you have one more… One more left for me to reap."**

"You don't have to do this, Kuro! Let go of vengeance! Let peace return to you!"

Gripping her talons onto the element, Kuro flapped her wings, pulling it forcefully from its pedestal.

"What are you doing!?" Sein asked, horrified. "The heart is not yet healed!"

**"You shall suffer as I suffered!**

**"You shall live what I have lived!"**

Kuro pulled the heart with all her might. The traction force wounded and strained the element to extreme levels.

"Kuro, stop! Please stop!"

**"You shall lose as I have lost!"**

"You don't know what you're doing! You still have-"

**"YOU WILL SEE YOUR WORLD DESTROYED AS YOU DESTROYED MINE!"**

Frenzied, she lets out a piercing shriek; Kuro takes flight and gets altitude for a devastating swoop. She dives on the heart of the mountain.

Sein uses all her remaining forces to shield the heart. Her efforts fail as Kuro breaks the shield with ease, reaching her target...

...

…And the element of warmth was destroyed.

...


	20. Flames of Vengeance

...

During the chaotic fighting, Layla and I heard Kuro's screech. The unpleasant surprise made us shiver. We immediately feared the worst.

"Sein!" I knocked on the chamber's doors. "Sein, are you okay!? Answer me!"

I called and knocked on the doors harder and harder with growing concern.

We began suffering pressure from the creatures again, they just didn't stop coming. It never ends! The situation became alarming, my concerns for Sein were already too great.

"Sein, please answer me!"

I had no response, all I could do was to pray for her safety. I joined Layla to hold the line again; something was not right anymore, we were unstable. That screech desynchronized us. We suffered pressure and gradually lost room to breathe.

Layla was not fine, she was worse than me… I just realized, her phobia started to manifest.

I felt furious, I hardened my grip on the spirit edge and ran forward, dashing into the horde of enemies. I swiftly attacked, slashed, and sliced hundreds of creatures. I recovered a portion of our space, I brought some time for us to ratiocinate.

I pulled her closer to the chamber's doors and stood in front of her.

"Layla, don't think of it! Ario is okay and currently waiting for you!"

I did not know how I could calm her. She had lost her composure. She probably can't fight anymore; she is desperately trying not to cry out in sorrow.

What do I do!? Despair slowly took hold of me, I can't give up…! I don't know what to do… I need Sein here and now!

I stood firm in front of Layla with a defensive stance. I will protect her until Sein returns!

We then hear another of Kuro's frightening screeches, this time much more closer.

Layla grabbed me and took us away from the chamber's doors. The moment we got out of the way the doors exploded and Sein came out flying out of there knocked out. She crashed and rolled on the ground violently for a great distance.

We were shocked by seeing her in such a state. I ran to her side.

Her spirit form was injured. Such an impact would have killed, I hope she isn't damaged like that time!

"Sein!" I shook her. "Sein, please wake up!" I called so scaredly.

Layla recovered her senses and protected me as I tried to reach Sein.

In a few moments, Sein coughed, she was conscious. I breathed in relief but she quickly lost her light, returning to her wisp form.

Before I could do anything, the earth trembled, an earthquake surged.

Mount Horu had awakened.

Layla and I staggered, we were unable to fight but gladly the creatures also were afflicted by the earthquake.

"Ori…" Sein managed to speak. "Take me to the Spirit Tree."

"What happened there, Sein?" I asked.

"There is... no time…" She spoke slower.

She seemed to be losing consciousness.

"Sein, take my light to recharge!" I told her.

The world started to succumb around us. The earthquake stopped, but the volcano erupted in a fountain of lava. Huge fireballs flew everywhere, soon to begin a new fire throughout Nibel.

Sein then began absorbing my light, just like she first did on the day we met. She restored herself, regaining her shine and ability to fly again.

"Sein, are you okay?"

"Thank you, Ori, but we don't have time to talk!"

"What happened there?" I asked again. "Did Kuro-"

"The element of warmth is gone. The Spirit Tree is our last hope. Take me there!" Sein ordered.

Kuro caused the eruption, why would she go so far for vengeance? The weight of urgency on Sein's words befell on me, I had to obey.

"Alright." I replied.

Even so shaken, Layla fought to give us time to recover. I noticed so many wounds on her body…she lacked balance and her defense faltered. Layla is far too unstable to fight.

She is suffering so much… She is dealing with both mental and physical agony.

"Layla, we're moving out! To the Spirit Tree!" I informed her.

The creatures don't stop coming. I feared that Layla was using too much of her ignition already. I grew worried.

Everything is crumbling apart.

"Ori, help Layla. I will punish those fiends!" Sein said.

A flicker of hope hit me with the instructions. Thank the light that Sein is alright.

I dashed in as Sein charged her light. I reached Layla and pulled her by the arm. Sein barrages light beams at every foe buying us valuable time.

"Come, Layla! We've got to run!" I said in a hurry.

I pull her harder but she doesn't move, I then glance at her and she just stares at the burning skies, watching the fireballs flying out.

She is still devastated...

"Layla, Ario, and others are alive! Do not think otherwise!" I said.

"I could never find out what bothered him so much…" She said in tears.

"Layla, please we must move!"

"There was still so much I wished to repay him..."

She overflowed in memories…

"Layla, come on! You know he would never die that easily! Don't lose hope! Please!" I was breaking apart.

"Ario was... in my eyes, hope itself..." She said. "I lost that, which brought light to my world…" She cried in silence.

Why…? Tears poured from my eyes. Her sorrow affected me, I don't know what to do! I need Sein to help me again! I can't do anything right, I can't even protect a friend...!

"Remember that he had a plan for such a situation! You cannot just assume the worst without proof! I trusted him and so should you!" I said out and aloud.

Thankfully my words managed to get a new reaction from her. Layla stops gazing at the sky and wipes her tears. She looked at me showing a gentle smile. I felt so content that she had a positive reaction.

"You're right." She pauses. "By the light of Seil, I am sorry for worrying you like that, Ori."

"Don't mind it, we must get moving." I pulled her.

She doesn't move.

"I still have to beat him in a duel, you know…" She pulled me back and lifted me.

"Layla, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Until there, I can't lose hope!" She said with a lovely smile.

"I can run by myself, don't need to carry me."

"Aw, let me look at you one more time…"

She glowed in her enchantment state.

"You have a similar light to his… Perhaps that's because both of you are Nibelians? Either way, I still find you much cuter than him."

Our time was too short. Even with Sein fighting for us, she couldn't hold off the lava coming.

"Layla, what are you planning to do?"

"In giving you a boost."

As she held me, she started to spin with increasing momentum until she launched me towards the Spirit Tree.

"Layla, what have you done?!" Sein asked.

"Come, Sein, you must join him." She grabbed the concerned wisp.

"Are you planning to stay behind!?"

"No, I'm not staying behind, I am going after you two."

"Don't tell me... You can't abuse your ignition, you know that!"

"Don't worry about me. I just want to help you in restoring the forest. I sent Ori ahead, saving time for both of you."

"Layla, why? We could have gone together!"

Suffocating in grief, Layla launched Sein after Ori. She stood silent as her allies flew to their main objective. She returned to gaze at the reddish sky, unable to stop thinking...

"Ah... he will be so sad… Forgive me..." She said, surrounded.

She tried to reach for the stars behind the veil of smoke.

"Ario, I think the fear is coming back…"

She began shaking...

"Don't leave me alone, okay?" Tears rolled down her cheeks.

...

After traveling a long distance, Ori manages to halt his flying speed with Kuro's feather and Sein reaches him in just a few seconds.

"Sein, where is Layla!?" He asked

"Ori, she will come soon. Right now we must focus on reaching the Spirit Tree."

"I can't leave her behind! She won't be able to use the ignition for much longer!"

"Have faith, Ori. She made her choice, now I need you to take us to our goal!"

"No! I won't go anywhere without her!" He said, stressed.

"Ori, I order you: take me to the Spirit Tree, right now!" She yelled.

"Not without her!" He yelled back.

"Ori, please… We are so close!" Sein glowed in a greyish tone.

Ori tried to reconsider, but leaving a friend behind is just impossible. He air dashed back, gliding at great speed.

"She needs our help, Sein! We cannot leave her like this!" He landed and started running.

Reluctantly, Sein charged her light…

Ori could feel an intensity of light energy behind him, so much that he turns around and sees needles of light, all pointed at him.

"Sein, you're going to zap me?" He asked, disturbed.

He looked so pained before Sein... it made her hesitate.

"I need to return to my tree, Ori. If you are not going to obey me, I will have to force you."

Ori suffered so much seeing the wisp's choice. Discordance falls upon the duo as the world burns.

"I'm sorry, Sein, but I am not leaving her behind. If you're going to change me to your liking, do it now!" He said, tearing up.

Sein conjured more and more needles, hoping to frighten him.

"This is my last warning, Ori! I truly do not wish to do this!"

Ori slowly approached the needles while Sein backed away.

"If you're breaking your promise, can you at least guarantee she will be safe?" He asked.

"I can't!" Sein replied.

Ori raged, deeply frowning. He knew the situation was urgent and Sein needed to return to her throne.

"Then, don't just force me, but also make me forget about everything! About our friends, the ancestral trees, our adventure, about my mother! Erase my name!" He yelled.

Sein glowed in an ever so intense gray tone. She fought against herself, she fought for life, she fought against the laws, she fought for the forest…

She fights... for him…

Sein dispersed all needles of light and flew slowly to his arms crying silently. He brings her closer, resting his forehead on her to calm themselves. They rest their thoughts on each other for a long moment.

Ori moves her away slightly so they could see one another.

"I wanted… I wanted to save you from a cruel destiny, Ori! One that I wished you never had to learn!"

"I want a destiny where we all are together, Sein. I won't abandon anyone. Please, Layla is in danger and only we can give her hope again."

"Fine!" Sein said. "I will help you, but know there will be consequences!"

Ori brings her closer once more, hugging the troubled wisp.

"Whatever it may be, if I can stay with you, I'll accept anything."

His confession makes Sein sob intensely, she presses herself against him. She could feel his embrace, his arms around her… She wanted to return it so much, and such desire weighed so heavy in her heart.

"Ori…" She sobs. "You don't understand... If my Spirit Tree burns out-"

Kuro soars nearby, hunting the light. Ori and Sein refocus on their demanding mission.

"We can't waste another second! We must find Layla and reach the Spirit Tree as quickly as possible." Sein said.

"Let's go." He replied. "Save your energy, for now, I'll open the way."

Ori runs back to the volcano and encounters more foes. He fought his way back to a friend in need. Swiftly slashing in quick dashes and agile movement to cut through the obstacles.

Ducking claws and evading fangs, he dances in the battlefield, cutting and repelling all enemies. Sein grew impressed. While she could blast many creatures on her own, Ori was showing a finesse style of combat.

"You're so skilled, Ori! I am impressed!" Sein complimented him during all that rush.

"It's good to be able to aid you this time around!" He replied.

Sein giggles. "Silly, you don't know how much I owe you."

They fight side by side, covering each other's back. Kuro in the meantime flies around, scouting every burned branch, every ashen body.

Ori bashed the creatures and bombed them with agility. Swiftly running through the hordes of enemies. Ghouls are used as simple boosters. The slow ogres were ignored. The stalkers were all slain by Sein.

"How far are we from Layla?" Ori asked.

Ori and Sein noticed a peak of light energy nearby.

"Such power…" Sein said.

"Was it Layla?" He asked worriedly.

"We must make haste! Her future depends on us!"

Sein flew in a new direction and Ori went right after her.

…

The dark owl notices the sudden surge of power and decides to analyze it. A tornado of fiery light appears in proximity incinerating its surroundings, pushing back all decay.

She swoops and lands before a spirit engulfed in living flame. A spirit drowning in sorrow.

"Kuro…" Layla frowned.

" **Child of ingenuity… What brings you to this place?"** Kuro asked.

"Answer me, Kuro: did you kill the spirit, bird, and yeti that you chased moments ago?"

" **You were with them…"** Kuro remembered her from their first encounter.

Kuro realized this female spirit was not a normal opponent. Kuro was reminded… violence breeds violence. The broken soul who stood in front of her was willing to give everything for the same thing she committed: vengeance.

A grieving feeling. Kuro felt pity for the heartbroken spirit. She was not one of her targets. Because of her blind rage, Kuro caused more pain than she intended to...

" **I have no quarrel with you or your light, child. Abandon this land while you still can."** Kuro said menacingly.

"Kuro!" She yelled, dealing a heavy blow on the earth below with a simple step forward. "I will ask you again… Did you kill them? DID YOU KILL HIM?"

Vengeance generates vengeance… A price the dark owl will dearly pay…

Kuro slowly spreads her wings to intimidate the heartbroken spirit.

" **Withdraw. Live for your loved ones. Don't make the same mistake as them."**

Layla cries while trying to stand firm. She carries a sorrowful rage that she cannot take for long.

"I may be overthinking…" She sobs. "I don't believe it. I don't want to believe it! He is alive! They are alive! I want to believe so!"

" **Control yourself, child. Be true to your intentions. Don't lose sight of what's important to you."**

"Don't lecture me... You took what was important to me. You took so much from thousands… Are you proud of it? Do you like what you see?"

" **I have sworn vengeance against the light of peace. She stole what was mine and I will steal what is hers. I will take the child of peace to his grave and this forest will burn to ashes."**

"Child of peace?" Layla pauses. "I see… Your objective is to kill him too? Is that how you take revenge? Shedding innocent blood...? You're despicable."

Kuro's patience before the unfortunate victim runs short...

" **Turn back. Now."**

Layla makes a runner pose.

"You dare to threaten Ori?" Her light burns intensely. "You dare to cause even more damage to a child?! You won't see the end of this day! You won't live to see his glow!"

Kuro takes a moment, shaking her head.

" **Then come. Protect what you have left."** Kuro screeches ferociously.

Layla leaps on the dark owl at an unnatural speed. Kicking her so hard the impact shocks Kuro and sends her flying.

Layla chases after her at great speed, walking on thin air with such powerful kicks that launch her forward. She rotated her target before it could even collide with anything. She kicks Kuro in a new direction with enormous force and chases after her again.

She moves at what seemed light speed dashes. Kicking Kuro left and right. Sending her upwards. Once so high, Kuro hovers stunned. Layla arrives preparing a dropkick. She hits Kuro with all her might, sending the dark owl down like a meteor. The collision trembles the earth.

Layla shouts enraged, preparing a yet deadlier kick. A colossal ax kick. From such altitude, with such power, the potency and lethality of this blow will be definite.

"This is for stealing what I loved!" She shouts falling at breaking velocity.

"Spirit Ignition: Wildfire Crash!"

A new earthquake strikes the land with the impact. Ori and Sein are surprised and forced to stop their advance.

The duo made haste, the earthquake scatters the decay, granting them space.

The mist of dust and smoke disperses. Layla realizes that her attack was not successful. Clouds of darkness gather around, hiding the owl's presence while Layla bears the downside of overusing her ignition. She falls to her knees, coughing up blood and suffering terrible pain.

" **Impressive, kainarian spirit. Your kind is something else, your ability is extraordinary."**

"This ability is not extraordinary. It deeply injures through overuse… Injuries that will never heal!"

She focuses to keep on fighting.

"And you took my healing factor!" She coughs more blood.

" **A shame… Everything has a price. Fight on. Show me your conviction."**

"A shame? I don't think so… At least, while we are here… Ori is taking Sein to the Spirit Tree. You will pay for your crimes shortly."

" **Are you certain of that?"**

The dark owl's words shake her a little. Deep down, Layla knew the chances of Ori returning could are high. She only could trust that Sein persuaded him to get the mission complete.

The dark clouds twist and expand. Each going in one direction covering the entire area. Shadow feathers fly out from each cloud as projectiles. Layla fails to dodge every sharpened feather and gets injured. Her flaming light quickly cauterizes the wounds.

Layla searched for the dark owl within the shadow realm of clouds. Striking the curtains to disperse her veil. More and more feathers fly out everywhere, unstoppably aiming at the spirit.

Layla is not able to move freely. She decides to strike all clouds simultaneously. Lifting one leg to strike the ground.

She stomps the ground, cracking the earth and creating a huge gust of air to disperse the clouds. Kuro is revealed and instantly brought down with a powerful kick.

Slammed against the land, Kuro pushes Layla back with an agonizing screech to stand back up.

Layla still advances despite the shadow energy holding her back. Her rage launched her forward and hit a new blow on Kuro's face. Layla shouts furiously following with another kick going for a rageful flurry.

Each kick pushes the owl back slightly. The flurry goes on until Kuro flaps her wings to take flight.

"You can't run away from me!" She leaped after the owl.

The moment Layla would strike her foe she goes through her body like she was made of gas. Layla is surprised and pinned down. Kuro swoops and locks her in place below her talon.

" **You lack rage, child. You fail to avenge your loved ones."**

Layla was defenseless before the overwhelming pressure of the dark owl.

" **Your flame is nothing but a wild spark… You can't burn anything, can't avenge anyone. How can you expect to be able to do anything while screaming like an infant?"**

"Silence! You don't know my pain!" Layla yelled.

" **We are almost the same… so much that I felt pity and tried to spare you. Since you made your choice, commit yourself.**

" **I know you can do more. Ignite, child. Stand proud and tall to the very end."**

Tears rolled down her cheeks, her incoming defeat before the dark owl was almost certain. Layla took a long deep breath, gathering determination.

"I will… avenge them…!" She struggled and pushed off the talon little by little.

"I will… save him!" Layla freed herself and pushed Kuro back.

"I will…" She staggered. "Take you down… WITH ME!"

Layla trades even more of her vitality for power. Combusting her own body, enchanting herself even further abnormal levels.

Kuro watches her commitment. An unbreakable iron will. A poor soul giving it all.

"Spirit Igniti-" A violent bloody cough takes her down to her knees.

Suffering to even stand, Layla, kept trying. Moved by sole rage and sadness, she stands back up, determined for her last performance.

Kuro still feels much pity for the heartbroken opponent in front of her. Layla manages to stand firm.

"Spirit Ignition: Phoenix Wrath."

The flames dance and form a phoenix of grandeur over Layla. A phoenix carrying all her sorrow and wishes.

"This is the end." She recited, making a runner pose.

" **Indeed."**

Kuro inhales deeply, gathering shadow energy…

The phoenix crashes down and Kuro exhales a devastating shadow breath. Fire and shadow clash for a final time. A violent dispute to see whose rage is greater.

Each side holds strong for long. No side backs up. Layla just gets stronger with each second and Kuro is pushed back, getting breathless. The dark owl can't keep up and shields herself with one wing.

Layla wins the dispute and Kuro understands what is to feel the rage of a broken soul. Just like herself.

The phoenix roars and incinerates everything in contact. A huge explosion of fiery light peaks and vanishes. The battle was over.

The curtain of smoke soon disperses, and reveals Kuro with a burned wing, standing tall while Layla is defeated on the ground.

" **I commend your courage, child. It seems your wild spark did burn me. I've misjudged you."**

Layla's glow was slowly fading away.

" **You gave me much to think… I thank you…**

" **Would you tell me your name?"**

Layla struggles on the ground as her life seeps away…

"A...ri…"

Kuro steps closer, sharpening her talons.

" **I will grant you an honorable death. No decay will feed on your suffering."**

Kuro gets close enough to complete the deed. She raises one talon...

" **I will remember you, kainarian. Good-bye."**

Kuro lounges her talon forward and it clashes against a blade and a shield. In seconds a blast of light comes rapidly and Kuro retreats to a safe distance.

Ori, Ario, and Sein arrive. Both spirits holding their weapons to defend a weakened friend. Ario carries a spirit shield, a wall of light.

"Thank the light you're all here!" Ario said.

"I knew you were okay." Ori rejoiced.

Sein flew to Layla and quickly started to heal her.

"Shh, rest easy, dear. Forgive us for taking so long." Sein said, channeling her healing light.

"We will hold off Kuro. Sein, just focus on healing Layla!" Ario instructed.

" **Layla… that's her name…"** Kuro said, interested.

"Monster… You'll pay for what you did to her!" Ario frowned.

" **Go on, heal her. I wish her to be safe."**

"Lier. You only wish to hurt her again!"

"Ario, stop." Ori said. "Kuro is not lying."

"What? How can you be sure?"

"I only feel it, somehow. Kuro speaks the truth, she has respect towards Layla."

"Tsk. Since she is not attacking, it may be true.” Ario replied. “In any case, do not let her come closer."

Both of them stood ready and watched the dark owl carefully.

"Ario, Daruk and Franz are all right?” Ori asked.

"They are. The Zephyr unfortunately has crashed on the Thornfelt Swamp. They are currently fighting against the decay. I can trust Daruk, but he will not stand firm forever."

"I'm glad…" Ori took a deep breath.

Layla coughs violently as her vitality is slowly restored.

"A...rio…"

Ario goes to her hearing the call.

"I am here, Layla. Please hold on. Please be strong…!" He held her hand.

"Sein, are you able to restore her?" Ario asked.

"I… I don't have enough power! I can only stabilize her health momentarily. Her light is far too damaged. She also lost too much blood."

"Give my light to her, Sein. Please!"

"It will not save her, Ario. She is still too weak to receive a transfusion."

"But it will give us time. Please, I beg you!"

Ario and Sein focused on Layla, discussing how to save her. Meanwhile... Ori approached the dark owl.

"Kuro, can we talk a moment?" Ori lets go of the spirit edge.

Kuro watched her target approach with friendly intentions. Ario wanted to intervene, but Sein allowed Ori to make contact.

" **I am your enemy, child of peace. Do not think I will reconsider."**

"I know that I just… want to thank you." He smiled.

" **For what? I was about to kill your friend."**

"For sparing her. I find it very noble of you."

Kuro takes a moment.

" **Child of peace, why do you waste her efforts? You could have reached your goal at this point. You are one cruel being.** "

"I… couldn't leave her behind. I wouldn't be in peace if I had to live like this."

" **Sacrifices are necessary for the greater good. Your kind knows that meaning fairly well, isn't that right?"**

Ori feels perplexed.

" **You disrespect her wish. She brought you victory and you threw it all away. A shame you don't realize it."**

"I am not sacrificing anyone! You wouldn't give away what's dear to you too. You wouldn't let go of your owlets."

Kuro steps closer to frighten the spirit.

" **Watch your tongue, pawn of the light. Do not enrage me more than I already am."**

Ori dares to step even closer to the dark owl.

"Kuro, please let me heal you." He asked, caringly showing mercy.

" **No healing can save me, child. Only your death can."**

"Please, you do not need to do this. We're extremely sorry for the accident!"

" **Accidents do not exist. You saw it too, didn't you?"**

"It was my fault. I was called out that night. The light never wanted to harm your children!"

" **Child, do not waste your time. Your forest is burning, your Spirit Tree is in danger… Why do you dialogue with your enemy?"**

"I want to save you, Kuro. I know there is still kindness inside you. You just proved me right! I just want to wash away the anger. You still have one child that needs you."

Kuro pauses… pondering...

" **After all I did to your kin and home, you'd still try to save me? Naive spirit… You should seek vengeance for your fallen brothers and sisters."**

"Please, give me one chance. Let me share with you the light. I promise it will make you feel better."

Ori reached out one hand for the dark owl.

" **Your ‘light’ is the same that killed my children. Your ‘light’ is what made me who I am. Your ‘light’... cannot save me."**

Kuro pauses and rejects Ori’s offer.

**“Enough wasting time. Prepare yourself for your inevitable end. Once the girl is healed, it will be your turn.”**

Ori had no other means or options in the moment to reach the owl. It seems useless, she will not hear. Saddened, he slowly walked back to Sein's side, and meanwhile, Layla was unconscious but stabilized, she had received a donation of vitality and her wounds were healed.

"Ario, It's up to you now. Take her out of here. Go somewhere safe." Sein asked.

"Thank you, Sein, but what about you two? Kuro is still right there."

"Don't worry about us. Thanks to Layla's efforts, we now have an advantage. Therefore keep your eyes on what is important to you. Be very careful with her as she is still in great danger. I need you to bring her to the Spirit Tree once the forest is restored."

Ario hesitates momentarily.

"Understood." Ario carries Layla on his wind board, ready to take flight. "I owe you, I will keep my word."

"I thank you, dear. Safe travels."

Ario notices Ori returning and his heart aches at the sight of the demoralized young spirit. "He will try to reach the unreachable..." He remembers; a prophecy that perhaps was mistaken... Unless it has yet to happen.

Another point that Ario suffered upon seeing is that he is unable to help Ori and Layla at the same time. Layla needed protection and Sein needed to go to the Spirit Tree.

With the difficult choices, Ario could only carry one on the wind board with him. Taking Sein to the Spirit Tree would be easy, but leaving either Layla or Ori behind was unthinkable... The answer was out of hand. In the struggle, he chose to take care of Layla and trust Sein to protect Ori and to complete the final stage of the mission.

"Sein, please protect him." He pleaded.

"Have no doubts about it." She replied.

Ario flies away and shares visual contact with Kuro. The owl watches them leaving and awaits...

The wisp gave her attention to Ori, feeling proud of his attempt to befriend the dark owl. She flies to his arms shining kindly.

"Ori, my dear, don't feel sad, for you did your best. I thank you for being so kind."

He was heartbroken but resolute. He watches the surroundings… the forest of Nibel burns and the lava slowly devours the land.

"Sein, what happens now?" He asked.

"We are going home, dear."

"Home?" He repeated.

"Yes." She sparkled. "I wish to show you the wonders of Nibel in all its glory… but for that, we need to open our way."

"I don't wish to hurt her!" He said, sorrowed.

"I know, and I am truly sorry, Ori. We can't save those who do not want to be saved."

"Give me one chance, Sein. I will make her hear me. Just one chance!"

Sein ponders without an answer. She shines kindly showing respect towards his wish. His heart already suffered enough, she had thought to herself.

"Very well. I will aid you. Let's go, Ori."

"Thank you, Sein." He cheered up.

" **Your time is up."** Kuro said, stepping closer.

Ori and Sein focus up. They rise against the dark owl.

"This rivalry will be over!" Sein shouted. "Kuro, you shall perish or be redeemed this day! It will be your choice!"

" **Seems you've grown confident. My burned wing... is not something you can boast about."** Kuro spreads her injured wing.

**"You see… shadows answer to my call."**

Kuro's burned wing is enveloped in a purple shell of dark energy. It replaced its missing feathers, allowing her to ignore the pain and be able to fly.

" **There is an ending for every tale. And yours, have arrived."**

Kuro shrieks announcing the commencement of their battle, soaring to the skies.

More determined than ever, Ori and Sein do not back away.

Fire, shadow, and light fight off in a battle between life and death. A final showdown. A final race to the goal.

...


	21. A Mother's Love

"This rivalry will be over!" Sein shouted. "Kuro, you shall perish or be redeemed this day! It will be your choice!"

" **Seems you've grown confident. My burned wing... is not something you can boast about."** Kuro spreads her injured wing.

**"You see… shadows answer to my call."**

Kuro's burned wing is enveloped in a purple shell of dark energy. It replaced its missing feathers, allowing her to ignore the pain and be able to fly.

" **There is an ending for every tale. And yours, have arrived."**

Kuro shrieks announcing the commencement of their battle, soaring to the skies.

More determined than ever, Ori and Sein do not back away.

"Kuro!" Ori yelled. "There is still hope!"

"Ori, we must move! We can't defend ourselves from a direct dive!" "Sein warned.

The fires on the forest intensified and made the path much more obscure to follow. They struggled to choose a direction to go. In the tense moment, they went the only way available: a nearby cave.

He dashes ahead and upon quickly hiding from the dive, Kuro lands with an incredible slam on the cave entrance, sealing it shut.

" **You cannot hide from me. Die by the fire or by my talons. Your choice."**

"She will lock us in here!" Sein said. "We must reach the exit before we get toasted!"

"Toasted? It's rare to see you speak a little more informal." Ori giggled.

"Not the time to be observant! Run! Run!"

Ori takes out his smile and dashes as fast as possible to the exit before Kuro would seal it. The tension increases exponentially with the fires uncontrollably chasing after him.

"The fire is everywhere!" Ori said.

"It is spreading much faster. Nibel is burning for too long, we must make haste!" Sein said.

They reached the exit of the cave, reaching a new area and a pool of lava stood before them. Small platforms of rocks were floating on the pool. Ori doesn't waste time, he jumps on the platforms and just focuses on getting to safety. The lava seemed to release bubbles and get agitated, it would soon create a geyser.

The duo checks the skies and spots Kuro diving in. No cover was available. Observing the reaction of the lava pool, Sein had an idea.

"Ori, stay still." Sein said.

"Do you have a plan?" Ori asked.

"Yes. Hold on tight!"

She charged her light, releasing a light beam into the pool and causing a geyser to erupt and launch their platform upwards. Ori jumps away with the impulse and glides with the feather. Kuro interrupts her dive to not get in contact with the molten magma, soaring up again.

The dark owl saw the opportunity to strike the spirit while he glided. She quickly approached.

"Kuro, you can still go back!" Ori yelled at her.

Kuro prepares an attack, sharpening her talons in shadowy energy. Ori quickly redirected his path by launching and bashing a light burst orb. Evading the talons and going even higher. He manages to land on the owl back, which deeply bothered Kuro.

" **There is no going back. Not anymore, not ever. That applies to me as well."**

So much was going on in my head, I wanted to help Kuro at any cost. In any way possible. With Sein at my side, my courage was boosted and I still needed to think about how I could reach her.

By landing on her back I had a great difficulty standing, luckily, I could hold on to her feathers to not fall.

" **You're not safe on my back, child. You delay the inevitable."**

"You will hear me, Kuro! Just stop and listen!"

Kuro closed her wings and did a barrel roll so quickly that it made me dizzy. She spreads her wings again to continue flying. That sudden rush… If I fall I may die, I must not let go!

"Ori, what are your plans?" Sein asked.

My plans… I still had to think of it! I could see Kuro's wing, the one Layla injured… If maybe-

Kuro barrel rolls again, this time more forcefully. The sudden force of the spin in the air is a bit too much to handle! I'm having motion sickness.

"Stop it!" I yelled. "You've suffered enough Kuro! Please just let's return to our homes!"

" **I will… Once the world is made safer for my last clutch."**

Kuro does a new violent barrel roll, and will go for another! It's too difficult to hold on! I was extremely dizzy with the turbulent flight. Sein gave me support by pushing me against Kuro so I could hold on.

"What can we do, Ori?" Sein asked again.

It's difficult to manage my thoughts so dizzy! I need to return to land, but I need to remain close so Kuro so she may hear. I focused a lot of my willpower to speak.

"You can't fade the light from the world! Without it, there is no shadow! There will be only Decay! Your last clutch will be in far more danger!"

" **Indeed… that, however, only applies to Nibel and my homeland."**

"You're planning to fly to another forest!? You could live in peace here! You're free to start over!"

" **Do not remind me why I wanted to start over! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!"**

Kuro frenzied, preparing to do multiple barrel rolls.

"We must jump, Ori!" Sein warned.

I waste no time, I leap out of Kuro's back and fall. I pull Kuro's feather to glide and land safely. The fires everywhere approach.

Kuro dived in before I could even ratiocinate. In a reflex, I used my blade to block her talons and Sein helped me to withstand the impact.

"I would rather not… take such an impact… you know!" Sein said struggling.

" **THE LIGHT IS YOUR ENEMY! YOU'RE BEING DECEIVED! THE DECAY IS NOT THE ONLY MIASMA OF THIS WORLD."**

Her rage peaked more than I ever imagined. Her speech… Her words… I need to understand more! How she became like this.

The friction of my blade and her talons still clashed. Fatigue quickly made me weaker but Sein remained supporting me, healing me so I could hold on.

I slipped away from her talons and began running. Kuro soars for a new dive.

" **SHE STOLE EVERYTHING FROM ME! MY LAND, MY HUSBAND, MY DIGNITY! SHE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM US!"**

Sein and I listen carefully to her rageful shouts while navigating to safety. I dash onto a group of trees, one of them had a passage in its hollow trunk. I thought I could enter that narrow hole to evade Kuro and press on.

She dived in, and I reached the small passage. Kuro swoops so hard on the already fragile tree that it crumbles and falls. The trunk rolls for a great distance and Sein and I endure a wild ride spinning within it.

So dizzy and stunned, Sein healed me to get me back up quickly. Kuro landed on the trunk and started tearing it apart, shredding the wood to reach me.

I had to plan how to get out of this trap. I was stuck without options. Time was far too short. Sein charged her light to buy me time… I suddenly had an idea while watching her charge up.

I thought of Sol, the little girl that could conjure explosive orbs of light. What if I could use the burst as a propelling force? Would the impact be greater than the bash for traversing distance?

Using Sol's Light Burst, I thought I could impulse myself up with a charged jump. I crouched low and conjured two orbs below both my hooves, focusing energy to blast off when Kuro opened the way.

I waited just the moment and would aim directly at her.

" **Twice I've been betrayed by the vile light. Never again will I let my guard down!"**

Kuro opened the way and I did the greatest jump I could while detonating the orbs. The light burst sends me with a great force and I slam on Kuro's chest head-on. She is pushed back and I get stunned by the impact. And in fact, the impact hurts a LOT!

I curl up on the ground as my head and neck ache so much. Luckily for me, my suffering was short-lived, Sein healed me again. I catch my breath, and Kuro recovers, taking flight.

"Impressive jump, Ori. I feel it is not intended to be used as an attack though." Sein said.

"You're strangely supportive, huh." I observed.

"Well, I said I would help you, right? I know you can make it worth it." She shined a little bit.

Hearing her echoing and soothing voice is like a blessing upon my ears at this moment.

"Thank you, Sein."

" **With your death, the world will be less bright… The Decay will prevail... It will serve as a message for all wisps."**

Kuro dives in again and I prepare a new charge jump.

"Ori, don't collide against her!" Sein pleaded.

I focus up and aim at her side.

"Sein, charge up, and follow me!" I said aloud.

Sein charged her light as instructed. The time had arrived, Kuro was nearly on top of us. My charged jump was ready and I evaded her attack. I flew up above her and rapidly bashed a new light burst orb to go back, I landed on top of her head.

I crouched and charged a new jump…

" **Insolent child. Accept the gift of death. It will save you."**

The impact of my jump forces Kuro's downwards, making her fall flat onto the ground. I glided with Kuro's feather and with Sein charged, she could send me in the way we desired.

"Push me, Sein!"

Sein blasts the air, creating a strong wind current in direction of the Spirit Tree. While I glided, Kuro shrieked and huge clouds of darkness emerged from her wings. She took flight after us, leaving a trail of black energy behind her. She flew much faster and would reach me very soon.

"Kuro, who hurt you!?" I asked in a shout.

" **Her name shall never be mentioned. She is no longer among us."**

I stopped gliding and fell while Kuro flew ahead spreading a black curtain of shadows throughout the skies. Through that curtain, she vanished, and sharpened feathers fell upon us.

Sein quickly reacted and made a shield over me, repealing the projectiles.

"Kuro, what happened in your homeland!? From what forest do you come from!?" Sein asked.

I landed and kept on running. With the difficult battle of understanding, we tried to reach Kuro to find a way to save her. Unfortunately, nothing was working, but she was giving us information. We come across a lake. It seemed to be the only way to evade her next attack.

I dived in, quickly swimming deep down to evade her talons slashing the water's surface.

" **I was forced to learn… The light is not to be trusted. They are better to fade away together with all their arrogance! All their superiority!"**

I could listen so well even underwater. I swam away, quickly entering a small underwater cave. The moment I made through the tunnel Kuro slammed the walls of the cave and made it collapse. I made it to the other side of the lake and moved back to land.

The large burnt trees around us were falling apart. Their branches on fire fell on us and I carefully had to bash them away and to move safely.

" **Die, so I may rest. Die, so I may save the last of my offspring!"**

Kuro was already diving, I had very little time to react but the most recent branch I bashed from cracked into smaller pieces and scattered. One-piece was very close to me so I bashed myself out of the way, getting into cover.

The consuming fires were mercilessly spreading everywhere. I had met a dead end of stone and aflame crumbled trees. The only option for me was to climb up a collapsing tree nearby, it was hollow from the inside and would allow me to get over the barricade.

" **My husband had to give everything to the oppressing light! He sacrificed himself to protect me. He donated his time… So I would maybe recover..."**

I climbed with my utmost speed within the hollow tree, dodging all aflame hazards and hiding from Kuro's view.

"Donated his time?" Sein repeated.

Sein seemed to be thinking a lot.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

" **We had to serve the light or we would die. Even worse… She made many of both dark and light bathe in the Decay, so she could have an 'excuse' to put down those who fought for their free will."**

"Bathe in the Decay?" Sein was disturbed.

I had to focus on my mission and couldn't keep up with everything Kuro said. She flew around searching for me. I was climbing up and could reach the top of the tree before It began falling. Kuro spots my glow as soon as I leave cover. She dives in.

" **I will never serve! I am a proud Dark Owl of Niwen! My will is my own! My destiny is not hers to decide!"**

I hesitated to find a path to go. I had to descend, but with Kuro diving, I felt it would be the wrong move. I had to choose something. Sein goes silent like she had heard something very, very unpleasant.

In the struggle, I saw smoldering boulders falling, and in a flash, I dash and bash upwards, climbing the cascading rocks. The tree I was in had been destroyed by Kuro and she took flight once again.

" **Surrender. Save yourself from the consuming darkness."**

Navigating through the air however I could, I bashed the rubbles that fell from the skies. I had a great altitude, and looking down, the land below isn't safe anymore. My bashable objects had ended and only the feather kept me safe in the air from the lava below.

It was time to face Kuro directly, to face a predator in its territory! Sein and I were focused and we could see the Spirit Tree at the distance. The flames soon would reach it.

"My Spirit Tree! We don't have much time!" Sein grieved.

" **Twice you've escaped me thanks to outer help, child. This time, nobody can aid you."**

Sein began to change, the torrent of rage made her act differently. Her blue light got traces of red with our alarming situation.

" **This is my last warning Kuro, aid us or die."** Sein spoke more menacingly than Kuro herself. I was scared.

" **Oh? Am I worthy of your spite now, Sein?"**

"Sein, don't be angry, please!" I said to her.

Kuro dived on us and Sein clashed against her. A powerful flash of light and shadow surges and both of them are sent back.

"Ori, to the Spirit Tree! I will deal with Kuro." Sein instructed.

I had no time to lose, I air-dashed to build momentum and glided from to our goal. Thousands of huge fireballs still flew across Nibel. The consuming fires still threatened the last hope of our home.

Kuro went after us unrelenting. Determined to end what she had begun. Sein was ever so serious. She fired off her flaming light on Kuro causing damage with intent to kill. Kuro suffered and was unable to approach much. She shrieks gathering forces, using her shadow flight to evade the light beams.

Their fight goes on and Kuro slows down before the rage of Sein. In a moment, she flaps her wings strong enough to boost her speed as she lunges her talons on Sein. A new impact, a new flash of light sends both of them back with a powerful shockwave.

I felt Kuro would die, my heart ached before the fighting behind me.

" **You prove me right, light of peace. You're no different. Just another brave soul."**

"Silence! Do not compare me to her. She is the pinnacle of everything I disliked and doomed!"

They clash again, a new flash peaks. Kuro let out screeches of pain. Kuro herself wasn't able to stand for much longer.

"I pity you, Kuro. I will end your suffering and avenge all the lives you stole!" Sein shouted. "May your rest be peaceful unlike your life was!"

I had to do something. They fought and fought and I was only able to glide to our goal. I had enough! I will stop-

Kuro fell. I see the dark owl unable to keep her flight as she falls on her back. Her burned wing had hit a critical level of abuse, rendering it useless.

"Kuro!" I shouted and went after her.

I landed on a thick grove and Kuro laid on the bushes, unable to endure the pain of her injured wing. The fires were everywhere, but this grove somehow was safe for the time being. I walk up to Kuro while she coos anguished. Sein flies ahead of me, charging her light.

"Sein?" I called.

Sein charged and charged. Gathering a lot of energy to blast off a big explosion. I realized what she intended to do. I ran up to her and pulled her away. Negating her right to finish off the wounded wicked owl.

"Please, don't! Kuro can't fight anymore!" I asked aloud.

"Ori, step away." Sein asked in a serious tone.

"I know she deserves punishment but she also deserves a second chance! She is a victim too!"

"I tried to protect her before, Ori. She rejected my offer as she had rejected yours. She will not hear. I will ask you to leave your kindness behind for only this day. We cannot save those who do not want to be saved.  **Step. Away** ."

"I won't!" I stood in front of Kuro. "I promised to help her. I know there can be a new beginning for her! She still has one child that needs her!"

"Ori… please…" Sein toned down her brightness. "You're too stubborn. You need to understand that not everything ends the way we want."

"Please, heal her, Sein. This time I know it will have the ideal impact to save her."

"What if she attacks us again, Ori. She has been consumed in blind rage, you know that."

"We've got to try it..." He laid a hand on the dark indigo feathers of the owl. His light tries to travel to Kuro, but it dims out not much later.

"See? She is still rejecting you." Sein said.

Ori tries again but to no avail. Even incapacitated, Kuro would not allow it. While Sein observed him, trying time and time again, she wondered if his light would be able to soothe her… the proof, however, was clear at plain sight.

"Ori, my dear, our time is far too short. Let's leave Kuro here. Take me to the Spirit Tree."

"What if the Decay or fire…" He interrupted himself.

"Ori, for the last time, take me to the Spirit Tree! We are so close!"

Both suffered a lot before the wounded owl. Both had too much to protect and to lose. He watched the wisp, unable to move. He turns to Kuro and cuddles her feathers. Snuggling there for what seemed to be a child seeking the warmth of a mother. Sein ached before the sight, glowing in gray momentarily, unable to believe in what she's seeing.

She couldn't hurt him more than he's already been. All this journey, all the losses he had to endure. His grieving goodbye to his mother…

Sein had made her choice. She flew closer to Kuro and channeled her healing light upon the injured wing. Quickly restoring it, reducing the pain to just a memory. Kuro recovers herself slowly and Sein focuses on halting the fire's advance before them, creating a large shield around.

Kuro stands up and observes her wing, spreading it and not feeling a single hint of pain she once felt. She then looks at both Ori and Sein. Both waiting for the owl's words.

" **Child of peace, why? Your reasons go beyond madness."** Kuro asked.

"Kuro, please. Let us restart." He said, tearing up. "Please, I want you to be at peace. Let past sorrows flow away, you don't need them to care for your child."

" **I respect your deeds, child. But I cannot just forget what I had to live. How do you expect me to live in peace at hostile territory?"**

"You never were in hostile territory. You made your home a war zone, but you can go back. You can restart and live together with the light."

Kuro takes a moment and shakes her head in disapproval…

" **Naive, foolish child. You should've known better."**

Kuro rapidly takes flight and dives on both of them. She crushes Sein violently on the ground, greatly weakening the wisp while gripping Ori on her other talon, lifting him so their eyes meet. He seems in despair as tears roll down his face. His motivation was fractured, his hopes shattered.

" **I am broken beyond redemption."**

Kuro tightens her talons around the defenseless young spirit. Crushing him slowly as he groans in pain.

"Stop it, Kuro! Don't hurt him! Please stop!" Sein shouted while stuck between the dirt and her talon. "He only wanted to help you! He doesn't deserve any more suffering!"

" **Indeed. I shall end his struggles here and now."** Kuro said to Sein and looked at Ori. " **May the afterlife treat you fair."**

Kuro clenches further, forcing all air out of Ori's lungs, inducing him into a panic for oxygen. His sight becomes blurry amidst the excruciating pain… Sein shouts and tries to help but so weak, her light does nothing more than a little budge the owl. She cannot break free.

Ori loses his consciousness gradually, slowly closing his eyes. He becomes limp and goes silent showing no more reactions. His glow was fading…

Suddenly, from the burning forest comes a new scream. A scream of a mother.

A corpulent black-furred creature with purple dots on its belly arrived. With its white masked face pleading for mercy before the dark owl. A lightless creature. An Urseia.

"Don't hurt my son! Please don't hurt him anymore! I beg you! Let him go!" The mother cries out.

"Naru? It can't be." Sein said, shocked.

Kuro feels surprised before the distressed creature. She eases her grip and screeches loudly to stop her advance and to warn the hostage on her hold.

" **Son?"** Kuro asked. " **Explain yourself, creature. Who are you."**

"I am Naru! I am the mother of the child you threaten! Please let me hold my child again! Please I'll give you anything! I just want to be with my son again!" She cries and cries out, with a stream of tears flowing down her face.

Naru could not give attention to the wisp as her focus was solely on Kuro. The dark owl watches the crying mother's torment. Kuro was shaken.

" **How a spirit is your son, creature?"**

"I adopted him on the night of the great storm! I found his leaf when it arose, becoming the spirit he is now! I welcomed him as a child of my own, even if he belonged elsewhere! I am his mother! He is everything I have! Please don't take him from me!"

" **Where have you been this entire time!? If you're his mother, why weren't you protecting him!?"**

Naru pauses, her face shows much grief and regret.

"I-I… was lost in a dark place... Lost and endlessly wandering into nothingness. I thought I was paying for my sin... I saw my life flash before my eyes and I entered a sleep that I would never wake up again. I was so cold, so weak. I was lost until the light granted me a second chance." Naru explained.

Kuro listened to the mother's confession, trying to understand as the owl tilted her head.

"The light… brought me back. I woke up, and the only thing I could think of, my sole purpose was to have my child back in my arms. Please…" Naru falls on her knees and stretches out her arms. "Let me hold my son again!"

Kuro could not make up for how the mother returned, but she could see herself at the same place the black-furred creature was. A mother, trying to protect its child with all her might. A mother… about to suffer the same fate she had suffered.

Kuro releases Ori, and Naru catches him, pulling him into a big embrace. She cries even more, but this time in relief for being able to have him in her care once again. She takes her time hugging the unconscious spirit while her tears fell on him.

It was not a lie, Kuro observed... For an impotent creature like her, to cross the forest on fire and infested with dangers, all the way here to beg for mercy for her only son...

Kuro felt a piercing pain on her frozen heart, one that melted the ice. Kuro looks to the horizon and coos frightened. The mountain of her nest, where her last egg resides, was almost being engulfed in the fire. Kuro quickly realizes she won't be able to fly there in time. The fires… will consume everything. The weight of her actions made her suffer in grief. Kuro couldn't allow this little mother, suffer the same fate as hers. She couldn't allow… her last owlet to meet the same unfair destiny. She cannot repeat what the light had done to her...

Kuro grabbed Sein and took flight, leaving the weeping mother behind. The dark owl had made up her mind. She flies towards the Spirit Tree.

"Kuro, what are you doing?" Sein asked.

" **Sein, let us end this strife, once and for all."**

Kuro flew to their destiny, and arriving at the top of The Spirit Tree, the almighty tree of life of Nibel, Kuro makes her choice.

"Kuro, wait! You don't understand!" Sein pleaded.

" **I do…"**

"You still can leave behind your sins if you promise to live together with the light! You will atone by caring for the new life in the forest! Please, listen to me!"

Sein is placed at her throne and a powerful ring of light travels through Nibel. Her light burned more resolutely than ever before. The Spirit Tree awoke from slumber. A new voice echoed, filling the air; sharing tranquility in its soothing tone.

"Sein, I've missed you."

Sein was being charged by someone other than her own. Her light intensified with the brightness of thousands of stars.

"Kuro, please get away! I can't… Hold on!

" **Light of peace, please..."** She paused. " **Take care of them. Mend what I have hurt. Give me... a peaceful end."**

"I need you to take distance! I can't control myself!" Sein yelled, struggling to contain her powers being restored.

" **I said before, I am beyond redemption…"** Kuro said calmly, closing her eyes…

"Yali, please wait!" Sein pleaded.

The light within Sein was shining as incredibly as the sun. Her pleas could not be honored as the fire had to be detained. The voice spoke again.

"I am sorry, Sein."

Sein could hold on no longer. A radiant wave blasts from the Spirit tree, traveling all over Nibel, washing all Decay, and extinguishing all fire. Restoring order and balance. Ending an era of despair and suffering.

Being so close to the overwhelming light cost upon the dark owl. This time, she relaxed and embraced it. Her problems, her rage, her past… all melted away. Her memories flashed before her; her last zeal to this world would now be at the care of another. She allowed herself to be taken away as her body disintegrated before the radiance. Her life would finally find peace as she atoned for the sins she committed in sole injustice.

The blindness of Nibel was no more. The light had returned to shine upon the land.

Life could begin anew.

Soon, the surge of light dies down and stabilizes. Calming down before a new dawn bestowed to Nibel. To a new future. Life began to bloom in every place, at every tree, and every surface. The damage of the fires was undone, the corrupted creatures were smitten. The Decay retreated.

...

At the Thornfelt Swamp, the Zephyr's crew were fighting against the fire and Decay on a frenetic final stand. They were saved as the light was restored. They rejoiced and could breathe again upon the new skies shining brightly with daylight.

"He did it! They did it! They restored the light!" Ario thanked the skies, crying out before the miracle that saved all.

The crew celebrates on the damaged deck of their ship. Proud that their mission was successful. Ario takes care of Layla as Franz and Daruk study the damage their fight against the dark owl caused to their ship.

"I fear that the ship won't fly ever again?" Daruk commented.

"Oi, don't say that! It must fly again!" Franz replied. "That owl was vicious but I saved the ship from permanent damage!"

"90% of the damage was caused by you, Franz." Daruk observed.

"Excuse me!? I am the best navigator in this forest!"

"Ahn, there is no other navigator in Nibel I think." Daruk said, wondering.

"Exactly squork! I demand your respect. Thank me for my flying skills!"

"You still caused the crash though. Kuro did not-"

"I will not be humiliated!" Franz paused. "Ok. I maybe did a bad curve there. But come on, give me a break. Fireballs were falling everywhere."

"Stop it, you two." Ario said, carrying Layla. "Listen, I need to help Layla. I will be taking her to the Spirit Tree. Do you guys want to come with me? We should check on Ori too."

"Oh, count me in. I am concerned about the young one." Daruk replied.

"Aye sir! Are we going to heal Layla eh? Lets-a-go at once!"

"Yes, we are." Ario replied. "She needs special help since she overdid herself. We don't have much time, so let's make haste."

They left the Zephyr behind for the moment knowing it would be safe with the forest restored. Ario delved deep in his own mind preparing himself for what was to come. He collected his thoughts as his friends were tranquil before the results before their eyes. He had no time to lose, he had to face his past and look out to the future.

…

Somewhere within the infinite world of dreams, in the afterglow of consciousness, Ori had a visit. The constellation of the dark owl came to him as he rested upon the arms of his mother.

" **Child, of peace, can you hear me?"** Kuro asked.

"..."

" **Listen… Thank you for reaching out to me. I hope my actions one day can be forgiven. I am sorry for all the damage I caused."**

"..."

" **If there is still kindness within you… I beg you: Save my last hope, my last child. Save the dark owls…"**

The dream oscillates… Her form begins to dissipate…

" **I am sorry for not accepting your light, maybe everything could be different if I did. Nevertheless, you can still grant the blessings of the light for those in need, and to my owlet. They will need you… need your affection and your care. For you… Are the light we long sought within the darkness."**

" **I will always be watching over you, kind spirit. Watching the great future that awaits you and allies from the stars. Thank you for everything… and good-bye…"**

…

With Naru calming down and life flourishing below her feet she noticed Ori crying even unconscious. She feels scared and calls him many times, she analyzed him and his health seemed stable. She just couldn't understand the tears pouring from his closed eyes.

Naru reflected within herself and one fact strikes her heart like a spike. No mother adopts a child without learning their name. Naru once again felt guilty; terrible for she never had named him. She knew he belonged among his kind, he had a name already, but never had the courage to return him to his place to learn it; all for fear of losing him.

Being alone had affected the poor urseia. Remembering her friends from the past always haunted her. She needed an escape. When that shiny leaf fell before her eyes, it was a gift, a blessing from the skies. A child of light, lost and cold from the rain of the great storm. Vulnerable to any evil's delight.

Naru did not think twice, she embraced the child, welcomed him as one of her own. She granted him warmth and shelter, cherishing the company of the little being. She finally had someone to care for and to atone for not being able to help her friends of long past. It all seemed perfect until she had negated his return when the Spirit Tree had called out to him.

Naru did not know that she had unleashed the events of the great blindness of Nibel, but she knew she had done much wrong by denying his return. She was willing to pay any price, anything to be able to care for him for the future. She smiled at Ori and wiped his tears, making him comfortable in her embrace.

"I will do the right thing this time, my love." Naru said. "I will finally learn your name."

She began camly walking to the place she thought she would never take him. The great Spirit Tree of Nibel awaits.

...


	22. The Heart of the Forest

The forest bloomed back to all its splendor in a constant rhythm. Slowly nourishing the land that suffered for years without the light to safeguard it. Nature was returning and the sunlight, shining upon Nibel.

"I never doubted seeing the Spirit Tree up and running again!" Franz said.

The Zephyr's crew arrived and observed the great tree from a short distance. Its shine is restored at its top, it's benevolence glowing on the land. They watched its might for long moments and Ario, still fought within himself.

The great plains and open skies welcomed them. The calmest breeze blew on them. A glorious and pacifying sight for most, but not for him.

"That's where Sein shines the brightest." Daruk commented.

"What are we waiting for? Do we have to climb all the way there?" Franz asked.

Ario breathes deeply, desperately trying to calm down. He adjusts Layla in his care and looks at her for a little longer. Guilty made it more difficult for him, seeing her condition.

"I don't know." He said, somewhat anxious. His vision would blur for small moments as they watched the great tree.

"Ahn, captain, are you okay?" Daruk asked as soon as he saw his state.

"Oi oi, you look terrible." Franz commented. "Are you feeling sick?"

"I am… fine." Ario replied with difficulty. "It's just… I feel I am not ready."

New symptoms appear clear on sight. Ario began shaking.

"I see something is disturbing you. It is the Spirit Tree, correct?" Daruk pointed.

"The tree? How can it disturb a spirit?" Franz asked.

"I am fine, really." Ario said, and moments later felt weak. It felt like his legs wanted to give up. He falls to one knee.

Daruk goes closer and aids him to sit down. Giving his back a rest. "Let me carry Layla for now. You must be tired too. We are here to help after all."

Ario began sweating heavily and had a huge headache. He moved his hands over his head and curled up barely managing to gather his thoughts.

"I am not fine!" He finally said. "I need… some time."

"We can see that, aye." Agreed Franz.

"But what happened to you?" Daruk asked.

"It's rather difficult to explain." Sein said.

In a surprise, Sein descended from the tree to approach. She appears in a new form, with a body of her own. No longer being a small blue sphere. She took the form of a female spirit, with many feats that make her appearance slightly different thanks to her powers of the light. The most powerful difference was her pupils, glowing in a purest blue tone, emanating with serene energy.

"Hello, Daruk and Franz." Sein greeted them. "I've come to heal Layla."

"Wowie zowie..." Franz speaks slowly, with beak wide open in amazement.

"Gorgeous." Daruk bowed. "It's an honor to see you fully restored."

Sein stepped on the green grass and walked up to Ario with a gentle gaze. He had his eyes closed and covered his ears in a painful headache. Probably he didn't even notice her presence. Sein simply laid a hand on his head and channeled her healing light.

"Rise, Ario. Leave the pain of your past behind. I am here to heal you too." She said with a kind and calming tone.

The headache had vanished from him and his body would not shake anymore from mental stress. He could calm down and could see her restored once again, shining as a wisp is meant to.

"Sein… I am sorry. I'm… not ready…" He said.

Sein smiles at him as she knelt to raise his head.

"It's okay. Take all the time you need."

"Forgive me, Sein," Daruk called. "but what bothers him at such a point?"

"Aye, he seemed to be fine minutes ago. He was the one who made the call to walk here."

"Gentleman," Sein spoke. "there is much to know and to be told. For now, I need to help something of importance."

"Oh, of course. Pardon us." Daruk replied.

Layla is brought to Sein carefully while she sleeps with a grave condition on her health. Sein could see the despair she went through.

"The spirit ignition, a gift of both power and demise. An ability that all spirits of Kainar possess. One to overuse its premise may fall before even getting their full power unleashed." Sein said, carrying Layla on her arms.

The members of the crew go silent in understanding that they could not keep the dark owl away from them. Their unsuccessful chase brought only but harm upon their friend.

"Do not blame yourselves, please." Sein spoke. "You did all that you could. In Layla's case, she could have evaded this much damage. However, her instability before the situation made her choose what she would not if she were more secure. That falls a bit upon your shoulders, Ario."

"I am sorry." He replied.

"You know she deeply cares for you, you gave her a family that she cherishes and shares memories. Everyone has secrets, but you should not reserve them from her. One of the things she had said at that moment was: 'I could never find out what bothered him so much'. I believe you know what she meant."

He knew and knew clearly as day. So many moments Ario would isolate himself for mysterious reasons and oftentimes she would make him company. Rarely granting him the loneliness he would throw himself into. Not even once he had the courage to open up. Ario felt ashamed. Terrible. Her wounds were also theirs. The solemnity gave him the courage to stand up and speak up little by little.

"I have done much wrong throughout the years. On the day I had adopted her, she gave me a new reason to press on during the dark times I lived. She served as a reservoir of hope for me all this time. I know I should be more sincere not only to her but to those who accompany me. This includes both of you too."

Daruk and Franz nod rather lost in the subject but show respect towards the captain of their small crew.

"I am always free to hear you out." Daruk said. "Never forget that I came on board because you aided me during a very difficult time. You can count on me."

"Ey, I am not very good at giving advice, but as the big guy here said, I too can listen to anything you wanna say. Don't keep things shut within. It will only stir the negativity within your soul. And by opening up, may allow some positivity to join the mix and balance things out."

Sein smiles and shines kindly. Content in seeing the support of allies that are always close by. She focuses on Layla and begins to channel her healing light...

"See? There is nothing to fear." Sein said. "Let us make a change, Ario. You owe him a visit."

"Perhaps I do…" He replied and wondered. "Sein, isn't it bad for you to be away from the tree?"

"Don't worry, what you see is a clone. My true body is within the tree. As you may know, I am incapable to leave your brother's side as our union tied us together."

The hint strikes Daruk and Franz.

"Brother?" Both of them asked.

"Oops." Sein giggled. "Well, they deserve to know. It will be the first step for you to overcome your past too, Ario."

Ario sighs feeling defeated. He smiles thinking it was about time too. He considers one more thing as Sein healed Layla.

"Before I can explain that. Where is Ori?"

The question had a certain impact on Sein. It was an itchy annoyance on her mind that wouldn't go away. What had happened there… In a way, Sein wasn't freaking out since she knew he was not alone. Sein understood that soon he would arrive.

"I have a moderate worry too. I don't know where he is right now." She replied.

"What? Sein, what happened-"

"Breathe easy. He is currently with his mother but unconscious from the battle. He will soon arrive here. I, too, have to heal him."

"His mother?" Ario asked. "What do you mean?"

"We should be patient. I am seeking answers too. We don't need to fret about it."

In proximity, Sein heard Naru's voice calling to her from the other side of the great tree.

Sein focuses on reaching out to guide Naru to her. She fires a thin beacon of light to the sky as a signal.

"He is here then." Said Ario.

"Yes. I will seek my answers soon enough. Also, don't forget he is still waiting for you up there, dear. No need to rush, but keep it in mind okay?"

Ario takes a moment, sighing again; this time feeling more comfortable.

"Yes. I will go soon. I wish to be in private with him..."

"Good to see you taking courage. May I ask what made you agree with my request?"

"Layla and Ori, of course. I'm also in debt with you again, Sein. Finally, my friends too have a great part in it I should say."

"Eyy, I don't know what I did but I'm honored."

Naru then arrives carrying Ori in her arms. She hesitates and feels scared as her eyes first catch the big creature in white wool, then a bird and spirits. One of them she recognized and could relax. She quickly approached.

"Oh, Sein. It's so good to see you." Naru said.

"Likewise, Naru. I am very grateful for your help. Thank you for saving us."

Naru carried the little spirit as she talked with the light of the forest. Meanwhile, Ario watched him deeply sleeping in the arms of his mother, an urseia. Even if it was his first time seeing their species, it mattered little when another strike of grief arrived for the feeling of his impotency.

"You feel shaken, captain. He is fine as you can see." Daruk said.

"I know. It's just that I feel guilty for his state. No, I am guilty for it too."

"Don't be so harsh on yourself. Let there be no doubt, you protected us with your instructions. You saved Layla by protecting her in a moment of vulnerability since her beginning. You saved Ori by combating the dark owl in that ruins, remember?"

Ario remains in silence.

"Aye. The future is yet to come. We all know that new problems will arise. If you feel like making amends for that feeling, keep your eyes peeled for anything that threatens them again."

With a short chuckle, Ario put a shy smile on his face. They then paid attention to the conversation between Sein and Naru.

"Pardon me, but who is the spirit you carry, Sein?"

"This is Layla, a spirit from a distant forest. She is a traveler."

"I see. What happened to her?"

"She also fought against that owl all by herself."

"Oh no… Will she be alright?"

"She will. Rest assured. I will heal her and I need to heal Ori, too."

Naru feels shaken. Could that be…

"Ori?"

Sein realizes the unusual surprise on the face of the mother.

"Oh… I see you always respected the Spirit Tree. I thank you again. And yes, the child's in your arms; your son and the light of Nibel is called Ori. That is his name."

Naru stared at Sein in a sentimental storm. It was a dream coming true. Tears started to pour from the mother's eyes as a torrent of sorrow and happiness mixed within his heart. She brought him closer, cherishing the honor she had for being able to hold him again.

Sein gave her some time and focused back on Layla. With a gentle touch from the wisp, Layla disappeared in a flash. The momentaneous flash surprises Ario and crew. They approach asking where their friend is and Sein reassures them that she is fine. "She is within the heart of the forest." She said to the concerned group. To non-spirits, that phrase was somewhat mysterious but Ario understood. He calmed down and explained to the crew where she was.

Naru shed tears of joy, calling and repeating the name of her son in the sheer wonder of discovery. Crying while hugging tightly what mattered the most for her. Sein could never take her child from her. She felt happy for her and also a little sad for he had a home already. Ori belonged to his family, he belongs where he wants to be.

"Hey, Naru. May I?" Sein suggests if she could hold Ori.

Naru hesitated for a moment but she had made a promise to do the right thing. If he was to return to where he was supposed to be, along with his kind. She would not fight it anymore. She gave Ori to Sein and similarly, the wisp shined kindly; gently touching him, making him vanish in a flash. Naturally, Naru felt pained. She honestly expected something like that.

"Do not worry." Sein reaffirmed. "I sent Ori to a special place, he will soon be back. For now, let us chat. Tell me, what happened to you? How did you recover and find us in that chaos?"

Naru works hard to calm down. She knows that Sein was no evil being, but wouldn't stop praying; hoping with all her might that she would be able to see him again. Ario and others approach to make contact.

"Forgive me for interrupting, but I wish to introduce ourselves." Ario spoke. "My name is Ario. The big snow guy is Daruk and the bird is Franz. I heard a lot of you from Ori, Naru. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh." Naru felt a little pained. "He made friends…!" She couldn't hold the sheer joy. "It's a pleasure to meet you too! All of you!"

"Let's catch up on everything. We have time, let us make new bonds." Sein said.

They all sat in the green grass of the great plains to talk about everything they wanted. And meanwhile… Within the heart of the forest…

…

A drip of water falls on what seemed a calm sea. A perfected and smooth surface of water he laid upon. It didn't make him wet but it certainly was water below him. The sound of a new drop hitting the smooth water surface reaches him. His ears tilt to the gentle sound. The tension of said water was somehow unbreakable. That small droplet was the only thing capable to pierce through it.

"Dear, wake up."

Sein's voice reached him; Ori began to awake. He opened his eyes, slowly being able to see his surroundings.

"Where am I?" He asked as a sight of a pure and calm ocean extended to the horizon and beyond filled his vision. There was nothing else. Just an undisturbed world of water.

He slowly rose to his feet and searched for Sein until he eventually his gaze met the wisp of Nibel, a small blue orb shining ever so brightly.

"Welcome, Ori, to the Realm of Peace. Where every end meets a new beginning. A land of renewal and rebirth."

Ori analyzed the place he would find himself. He looks down and confirms to be standing on water. His weight could not break the water's surface and make him sink. It felt like it he stood in common solid ground. It was almost alien. He explores and experiments walking, with each step he would send a soft tension in the sea, making ripples but it never would agitate the waters. Then he checked the skies, it looked odd. It was a clear sunny sky with no sun. It had a portion of clouds but this blue sky had something special: stars, constellations, and galaxies easy at sight.

After stargazing and playing around a little, he refocused on Sein, his greatest friend on his journey.

"Sein, what is happening? How… how did we get here?"

"It's very simple actually. I brought you here so you could heal and learn." She replied.

Ori remembers the conflict before being wounded and forced to slumber. That pain of being crushed was still very clear in his mind but he didn't retain any disdain for the dark owl. He feels worried, what happened to the forest and everyone? Why were they in this place? How were Layla and many other questions. Sein wished he could ask things slowly, but she giggles and flies around him playfully.

"I will answer everything in time, dear. Right now, I want you to meet someone."

"What? Someone in this place?" He asked curiously.

Sein shines and moves away to reveal something behind her. At some distance; within that calm sea, a treehouse. A small home built on the branches of a fully grown tree.

He widened his eyes surprised. That tree was not there before. How a tree could stand on water? More questions surged into his mind but somehow he realized that this place is not an ordinary one. Keeping that in mind made the need to make more questions disappear for now.

"That is a treehouse, Ori. In there rest someone very important to me, and our forest."

Ori waits in silence holding much interest in Sein's words. Who could it be? Somehow, through his instincts, Ori felt a familiar presence nearby. This realm was the home of a powerful entity, and it was not Sein.

"Oh, it seems he's awakened." Sein said, joyfully.

"He? Who is it, Sein?"

For a while, they watched the treehouse from a distance. And soon a new voice echoed through the realm. Its voice is familiar, crisp, and clear to his ears.

"Hello, Ori."

Ori could not deduce from where the sound came from. He turns around and checks his surroundings, but sees nothing.

"This voice… Who is there?" He asked.

Sein shines as she watches him searching around. In the place they found themselves, however, there was nowhere to search. Except, the treehouse. In a moment, Ori could see something, little orbs of light appeared and united. It was like particles of white energy gathering and taking a shape. More and more of them gathered and together, a new figure was formed. They took the appearance of a male spirit wearing a blue scarf.

"I am here." The spirit said.

Like Sein, that spirit also had glowing light blue pupils and a few blue stripes on his body. He had the common white-colored fur of spirits with wide and expanded tuft-horns that gave an elderly impression to Ori. But in truth, he was quite young, an adult in his prime years. Even the scarf was floating as winds were blowing it constantly.

His form did not look real, for some reason. The energy was always scintillating, making him look like some sort of ghost. An ethereal form. Sein flew to the shoulder of the mysterious spirit and they snuggled together. Seemingly Sein likes him, Ori could deduce by that kind gesture.

Who was he still was a mystical thought, almost an obnoxious one. He watched the older spirit perplexed. He and Sein seemed very united.

"It's been long since I saw a living being with my own eyes. I welcome you, my child."

So many questions. So many things Ori wanted to ask, about the sea they stood upon; about the sunny starry sky; the treehouse; what is the place they are; who is he. But one question prevailed above all others. By hearing his voice again, Ori could remember to whom it belonged.

"F-father?" Ori asked.

The spirit responds with a single nod and Ori feels shocked. His voice was the same as when the Spirit Tree spoke to him. It's loud tone, however, was much more controlled. Sein flies playfully around the spirit, circling his arms and landing on the back of his hand.

"Finally we can have a proper conversation." He said, placing one hand on his chest and a bow to intend a gesture of presentation. "I am the Spirit Tree of Nibel. The Spirit Oak. The chosen of Sein. The heart of the forest."

Ori was stunned, barely managing to compose his thoughts. The Spirit Tree itself was before him, but how? He was no tree. Ori did not know where to begin.

"I see you have much to ask. I can sense the storm of thoughts you have. They are unstable and confusing. Be calm." The spirit said. "There is much for us to discuss. Allow me to begin."

While he spoke, Sein kept flying around him like a whimsical companion, shining kindly and without leaving contact for too long.

"Firstly, I wish to apologize. I placed on your shoulders a mission you should never carry. I gave you a burden; a second chance as you were our last hope. I am sorry for being so indelicate. My incompetence made you and thousands more suffer fates of unknown evil. I heartily thank you, son. Thank you for saving me. For saving us all."

Ori heard every word with so much attention. Even so stunned his focus would not falter. The spirit was cheered by his unbreakable concentration.

"Ori, relax a little, would you? You are far too tense."

"You're… you're my father?" Ori asked, still quite shocked. "You're the one who gave me my name. If you're awake, it means the forest is restored!"

"That is right." Sein spoke, shifting his attention. "He is the one that allows life, to begin anew. His light is as greater as mine."

"No need to specify that, Sein." The spirit brought back Ori's gaze. "The important thing here is that I want you to see what you did for this forest. Together with Sein, you braved dangers that would never walk the land previously. You fought the scourge of our world. Met allies that bolstered courage and companionship. You faced the shadow of hatred; a mother whose never deserved the fate she had."

"Mother? Do you mean Kuro? What happened to her?"

They pause with and the spirit shows a saddened, sorry face. Sein too glows in a greyish tone. Ori receives silence and he grows worried for the dark owl.

"Hey, she is fine, right? He asked, imposing an urge to know. "The forest is restored. So she is fine right? Right?"

He had fragments of memories floating within his mind. Was it a dream? He could not remember it, but it was important nonetheless. He could at least tell that it was a kind of…farewell...

"Ori… Kuro has passed away." Sein revealed.

Somehow he wasn't as shocked as he would like to be. And yet, it was still an unpleasant surprise. "What…?" He quietly asked and looked down.

"My dear, I know how you feel… Don't let it-"

"She is here." The spirit spoke and pulled both their attention. The spirit began to stargaze and pointed up to a set of stars that were connected by a white line. "If you connect the dots, you'll see her."

Ori followed to where he pointed and had difficulty making out the form, but after studying the constellation, he could see the shape of an owl. Soon, Ori could see it more clearly, it resembled her perfectly. He gazed at it feeling devastated. He wanted to cry out but he remained in silence as tears descended and fell into the ocean beneath them.

"She is there, Ori. Always watching over you. The constellation of the dark owl doesn't just prevail here, but in the outer skies of Nibel as well." The ethereal spirit said with a soothing tone, looking back at Ori stargazing. "We both know that she had a difficult life and I tried to accommodate her however I could. You did your best. Now, let her rest. No more tears need to be shed for you can always look out to the stars."

Ori shifted back to the scarf spirit. Wondering how she could be up there.

"How did you do that?

"I can do many things." He replied. "One of my favorite things is to watch the stars and I wished to make her memory eternal. Therefore, I granted her a special space within the skies of Nibel."

"I see…" Ori roughly understood that this spirit has godlike powers too.

"Returning to what I was saying before, you have found many ancestral trees, haven't you?" The Spirit asked.

"Oh… Yes, I did." Ori replied, curiously. "During my travels with Sein, I've met them. It usually was not easy for me. But I managed to move on."

"I'm glad to know you could stand firm for their sake. You are a hero among us. All the souls you rescued aided you on your journey, and their gifts are forever yours to keep as a gesture of gratitude. That said, it's time for you to say your farewells."

One of Ori's ears tilt to the side, indicating his perplexity before the spirit's words but it was replaced by a feeling of uneasiness. The ocean agitates, something big was coming out of the waters. A large roundish object emerged. An immense gate.

"You may have learned that the Spirit Tree is like the great Archon or Overseer of those who have passed. The gatekeeper of something special. Those are the gates of the afterlife. Where the bridge of rebirth guides souls to the great beyond. As Sein first said, the realm of peace is a place of renewal and rebirth. Those who you have saved, can at last cross the gate. For a new beginning awaits them."

Ori stays silent watching the immense gate; watching it impressed. The spirit with scarf opened the great doors, and an incredible gleaming white light shone from within. Ori shields his eyes until he grows used to the brightness. The spirit stood quiet nearby.

In moments, new voices reach his ears...

"Oh my. I always knew you would do it." Someone spoke behind Ori.

By turning around, Fil stood there with a caring smile. The old spirit had the same ethereal form from before.

"Fil!" Ori called overjoyed. "How have you been?"

"Thanks to you, I am great. Tell me, have you found the wonders of climbing interesting?"

"Of course! Your wisdom was a lifesaver!"

"I'm glad to know." Fil chuckles. "I saw your adventure, young one. I am proud of you. Know that you and Sein are the great heroes of our home. May your name be sung for generations to come."

"Only Sein is heroic here." Ori replied flattered. "I did very little overall."

"Nonsense! If it weren't for you, who would have found Sein in the darkest of times? If it weren't for you, who would guide our light? Who would have saved us?"

Ori remains in silence still flattered by the words and a new juvenile voice comes out of the gate.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!" A child comes zooming to Fil as their family watches from afar. "You've finally arrived. We've been waiting for you!"

"Oh, my nephew. I missed you so much. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Let us go." Fil said to the small one and gave Ori a final gaze with a respectful nod. "Thank you, Ori and Sein. May the Spirit Tree guide your steps."

The child waves to Ori as does their family. Ori waves back and they all walk and cross the gate. They vanish before the radiance. Sein lands on top of Ori's head, knowing that it would be easy for him to break into tears. But he wasn't. He was emotional, but in a state of happiness for them.

"Don't push me!"

"Here is your chance to apologize. You better make use of it!"

Two recognizable voices. Leru and Reem appear.

"Oh! You two look cute together!" Sein comments.

Reem: "Silence! I will not descend to such a level to be considered the other half of this creature!"

Leru: "Aha. Sorry, he is still so hard to discipline. He will need more training until he can greet others appropriately. Isn't that right, sweetie?"

Reem: "Don't call me that! I will fight you here and now if you abuse my patience!"

Leru: "Enough playing around. You are in to apologize to Ori. Do it right and I may go easy on you."

Reem freezes in place and shudders. He suddenly changes and approaches with quite a finesse air of etiquette, cleaning his throat to talk in a new, educated tone.

"Pardon me, my liege. I am here to hereby ask for forgiveness for attacking you in a moment of unusuality and antagonism before our time. I acted rudely and brutally before those who saved our entire forest. I am ashamed of myself back then. Therefore, give back my bash."

Leru punches the back of his head with a wide smile. Reem bends his neck back with hands on the impacted area.

"Aw, you were almost perfect. The bash is now his you buffoon. You will go through more disciplinary classes anyway."

"What? I was flawless! I don't want more classes! Noooooo!"

"Sit." Leru ordered and Reem obeyed. "Wait." She ordered as she gave him a scratch below his chin. He growled a little but liked the scratch.

"Good boy." Leru then stepped forward before Ori and Sein.

"Hi, Ori! I am so happy to see you well. Hi to you too, Sein. It's an honor to see you restored."

"Hm, Leru, skipping formalities." Sein was so amused. "How in the name of all that is holy you managed to 'tame' a warrior like Reem? This is priceless!"

"Ah, that was easy. While he still goes haywire from time to time, I am glad I had the honor of such a thing. Nothing like some talking, affection, and some beat-ups can't do!" Leru sweetly laughed. "Now, changing the subject a little…"

Leru focuses on Ori and her air changes from that cutesy to a more grieved mood. Sein flies up to Reem and begins to tease him.

"Hey, Ori. I am deeply sorry for lying to you at the Moon Grotto. From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry."

"Leru, I forgave you long ago." He caringly replied. "You taught me the joys of being airborne and to always aim high to the sky. I loved the feeling like you've shown. Let it be clear, you're my friend, and friends forgive each other, right? Ah, tell Reem I forgive him too. He's a hot-headed person but I like him."

Such words of warmth and peace reached Leru with a great impact. She felt unbelievingly good. She also felt quite unstable, almost enough to tear up.

"Thank you, Ori. May the Spirit Tree guide your steps." Leru bowed and called for Reem.

Reem and Sein say goodbye and he goes to Leru. He notices she is so emotional and instead of mocking her weak state, he gives her a shoulder to lean on.

Reem: "Look at you, all sad for making a child cry once. He forgave you, no? Why the sad face then?"

Leru: "Quiet. Don't think you'll escape your obligations by sweet-talking me."

Reem: "Hmph, I never tried to escape it. Now, I admit, the kid has claws. He did the impossible, not the way I would like, but he saved our forest and our future."

Leru: "Aw, I like it when you show your sweet side. Would love you to keep it all the time."

Reem: "Can't do. One must be salty to balance out your sweetness."

Leru smiles content as they walk to the gate and pray their respects to the gatekeeper. They finally move in and cross it together.

Sein circles Ori playfully, pulling his attention and sharing comfort. New voices arrive in a joyful tone. This time, Tatsu appears on top of Junku, a gumon of a destroyed civilization.

"Oh, where are we?" Junku asked.

"Hello, you two!" Sein called them. "Welcome to the realm of peace!"

Tatsu takes notice and asks for Junku to descend her. Sein goes to the gumon while Tatsu walks to Ori.

"Hello, Ori. It's been a while."

"Indeed it has, Tatsu. It feels so shocking to remember where we last talked. To our comfort, here is not as dark and haunting as the Misty Woods."

"True. You know... Thank you for allowing me to see Atsu at that time. Thank you for granting me a place that I could be out of the shadows. My life mostly was… common and I used to be alone most of the time. I was a thrill-seeker. As such, I used to venture much by myself into dangerous places and loved climbing so much."

Being a thrill-seeker explains her scars and most insecurity around others. A shy person with unusual courage for dangerous lone activities. Ori did notice her mood much more light and relaxed.

"Oh, you're truly more lively, Tatsu. Glad to see you doing well. You seem to be very close to Junku too."

"Yeah. I became his first friend in the paradise. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to make him open up. He was so isolated, just like I was. I aided him in his recovery and we became very close friends!" Tatsu then understood the place they were.

"I see that Fil, Leru, and Reem moved ahead." Tatsu feels sad before the incoming destiny.

"They did," Ori replied. "and they await you as well. Whatever you find on the other side, know that it's a new beginning for you all."

Tatsu smiles, gathering the courage to move on. Ori in the meantime, remembers an unfortunate moment.

"About Atsu, I am sorry for I… have not found a way yet."

"It's alright." Tatsu replied. "I still am very grateful for the opportunity you and Sein gave me. My brother's fate... can't be helped. I respect his choice… I just hope he is okay."

"I can help you two." The spirit walks up to them.

"Oh, the gatekeeper!" Tatsu bows to the spirit wearing a scarf.

"No need for it, Tatsu. I am here to give you a miracle."

Ori and Tatsu watch him do a gesture like he was reaching for the stars. He poses stretching his arm up and focusing a great amount of light energy.

"Such fate was not deemed to happen. The darkening of the Misty Woods was… an accident of my part. I can redeem what was lost."

One star descended graciously, shrinking to a tiny size before it landed on his hand. He throws the star into the ocean. It lands and peaks in a powerful flash. It had a new form, the form of a new spirit.

Sleeping on the ocean's surface was Atsu, a spirit that was fascinated by the ways of science. One that wanted to protect Nibel but had their lives lost abruptly.

Tatsu gazed at her brother with wide eyes. Watching him as she felt like she was lost in another dark dream. An illusion? She carefully approached and she tested to see if it was the truth before her eyes. With a touch, she called him. "Atsu?" She shook him, trying to see if he would awake. She made many attempts and kept trying; it was working. Her long lost sibling opened his eyes and groaned, feeling so sore. He could breathe, he could move his own body again.

Ori and the spirit with scarf watched them silently. Atsu needed some time to fully awaken. It was a miracle for both of them. Tatsu started to tear up uncontrollably in happiness. They had all the time to reunite, to catch up. Ori was amazed by what the Spirit Tree could achieve.

Ori also felt a foreign feeling towards the spirit. How was all this possible? He would not ask more questions at this moment and decided to approach Sein and Junku.

"Hello, dear." Sein said. "Junku was saying to me how he met his friends in the paradise you made for them."

The gumon waves to Ori but seems uncomfortable to talk. Sein explains:

"Don't mind him. He prefers to talk in private most of the time. He said that he is very grateful for your rescue and the company you shared with him. Oh, I also see that Tatsu did get something of extreme value."

The two siblings could reconcile. Atsu was standing and conversing with the gatekeeper and his sister.

"I can't believe that he managed to save Atsu, Sein." Ori confessed.

"I know right? Like I said before, the light always finds a way. The Shrouded Lantern will forever be lit with the replacement of the Spirit Tree left there." She shined a little bit. "You don't want to talk to Atsu?"

"No need. He finally can be together with their family and I don't want to ruin their moment. Still, I am shocked to see how the Spirit Tree made this miracle… Who is he exactly, Sein?"

"You'll discover soon enough, dear."

Atsu and Tatsu were ready to cross the gate and they stopped to wave to Ori and Sein. Tatsu called for Junku and they all moved on.

"Feels so weird to see a gumon all of the sudden." Ori commented. "Guess the light has a space for everyone."

"It surely has, and I must say I'm impressed, Ori." Sein commented. "We saved a fair amount of souls, haven't we? There are still two more."

As Sein spoke, they appeared. Eki and Sol revealed themselves in a sparkling burst of joy and wonder. The little ones invited Ori to play catch as their first words.

"Eki, Sol! It's a pleasure to see you two!" Ori greeted the duo.

"Hi, Ori!" Eki replied.

"Hello!" Added Sol.

They pulled Ori to play and Ori couldn't resist but accept their invite. They were too energetic to stay still. They ran away for Ori to catch them. Sol could hide very well with smoke bombs and Eki could run as fast as Ori thanks to the dash they both possessed. Fortunately, Ori had more stamina and could adapt to the smoke curtain, he managed to catch both soon enough. It was an interesting challenge. The duo surely was sharp even to play around. They all have lots of fun until getting exhausted and getting a moment to relax.

"Do tell me. How have you two been?"

Eki: "It was super fun!"

Sol: "Super fun friends!"

Eki: "Fil is super chill and had many storytimes for us!"

Sol: "Leru is very kind and she could control evil Reem!"

Ori: "I wished I could have seen that. Leru did have the ways to persuade him, right?"

Sol: "Leru could get very scary without losing her kind tone."

Eki: "Reem would never challenge her at her angriest!"

Sol: "Tatsu is very cool too. She played with us the most. She also had more stories to tell!"

Eki: "And Junku is so big. Love playing piggyback ride with him!"

The children were so excited while telling her good times with their company. Perhaps they had forgotten about Naru for the time being? Ori would not check it to not ruin their mood.

"Eki: "Hey, Ori, where is everyone? What is that white thing?"

They stared at the gate of the afterlife.

Sol: "Looks scarily bright."

Ori brings both of them closer to a big hug. Reassuring them that everything is alright.

"Look, our friends all crossed that big white gate. They moved ahead for a new big home."

"Better than funny forest?" Eki asked. "We loved the funny forest."

"I know." Ori pets them. "I believe they are going to an even greater forest. One with the funniest trees. A new forest with more people to meet. Our friends are waiting for you there. They will be sad if you don't go too."

Eki and Sol were pretty uncomfortable. Children would never go well with change. Especially if it were big and radical ones.

The gatekeeper approaches to share a word with the children. Eki and Sol pay due attention to the being approaching. For some reason, the spirit goes silent for a short moment. He seemed to struggle but spoke up shortly after.

"Eki and Sol. It is a pleasure to meet both of you. Listen, don't tell anybody, but I heard that Leru is teaching Reem how to cook. Would you two be interested to see that?"

They become fascinated. Utterly curious to see such a scene.

"Evil Reem will be cooking? I want to see that! Where are they?"

"They are past the bright gate. Do you think you can cross it?"

"Yes, we can! We want to see that!" They replied.

Eki and Sol held hands and bid their farewells. They zoomed away to the afterlife without wasting a second. And just like that, they moved on. Together with their friends.

It became too difficult to not cry to that scene. To so many goodbyes. Ori teared up with a constant stream flowing down but he tried his best to stand firm. He would not lose composure for them. Sein was at his side, as she always did previously, sharing her peaceful shine and warmth with him.

"Are you doing okay?" The spirit asked. "The efforts you made for the forest will always be remembered. All of us will remember it dearly."

New spirits and all kinds of creatures appeared all around. Both of the light and lightless. Many souls that met their ends to the great blindness. Each single of them bowed to Ori and moved on to the gate. There were so many, the large ocean was fairly occupied with people calmly walking to the great beyond.

The spirit began to talk. "It's all thanks to you that all these souls could find their way to me. As the herald of life, I can guide them all to a new beginning. To a new future."

Long they watched so many cross the gate. What a sight to behold. Once all had crossed, once all had made their prayers. Ori felt restless wishing to know where they were all going. The answer was also clear in his mind, behind that glowing passage, was no means to end something, but rather to begin something new. Where it would take them was forever mysterious to him.

A little while goes by and Ori takes some time to calm down. He and Sein chat like they always did and eventually, the gates close and vanish from sight. Freed from duty for the time being, the spirit comes closer.

"How are you doing?" He asks and Sein rejoins his side.

Ori takes a little moment and sighs. "I am fine. I think I will never forget what has happened here…"

"I think so too. You have more questions, correct? Do you remember the kainarian spirit?"

The question takes him back to the events of Mount Horu… With so much happening, it was hard to keep with everything that he first wanted to learn.

"Oh, Layla! I totally forgot! How is she?" Ori asked, spooked.

"She is right here." The spirit showed a new object that supposedly wasn't there before. Layla appeared inside a bubble of light. She was in a fetal position and sleeping deeply.

Ori walks up to the bubble and gently touches it. The bubble wiggles with the touch but stays in place.

"She will be fine very soon. I feel you've learned the danger of what her ignition can bring, yes? She burned much of her internal organs."

"Thank you for healing her." Ori said. "She is very important to Ario."

The spirit smiles quite melancholic. "My pleasure."

Viewing Layla made Ori wonder…

"I thought Sein would heal her initially. I guess the ignition is just too troublesome…"

The simple understanding and respectful words of Ori are comforting to the spirit.

"I carry the light of rejuvenation. A miracle capable of unwinding and restoring the time of anyone."

Ori moves his gaze at the spirit wearing the floating scarf. "Wow, that is incredible! You can rejuvenate her wounds?"

"I can. My powers are better suited to heal more the forest than to those that live in it. I can not interfere much in life and its course, but I can heal her as she is a special guest here, just like you."

"I see." Ori returns to look at Layla sleeping, and while at it, he feels like talking about her.

"Did you know? She had a very traumatic start to her story when she firstly awakened in a cruel desert. She would soon meet her end to predators of the sands but a hero appeared and saved her. A traveling artist; wielding a bow and great courage, he fought off the dark creatures and brought her to safety. And yet, it wasn't all the traveler did, for the girl was scared beyond understanding and because of that, he adopted her so the girl could stay at the side of her protector."

Ori pauses.

"She told me that. Ario too said that he had great inspiration through his brother, Yali, to truly become a parent or a brother for her. I know that they had so many accomplishments together. They became family."

Sein shines content as Ori observes Layla in the bubble. A new water droplet falls into the sea and the sound echoes in the realm. The spirit went silent for a while. Ori went on.

"I also wished to know more about Yali. Ario said that he is traveling the world and is currently searching for him. I don't have many more details but Ario misses him so much." Ori says and by remembering the opportunity. He decides to ask:

"Hey, may I ask? Do you know if Yali is in Nibel?"

The spirit seemed to be struggling; covering his face to hide his emotional state.

"After all these years…" The spirit started talking, seemingly to himself. "He truly is a precious bean…"

"What?" Ori asked as the spirit stargazed again. He seemed unstable, his form oscillated a few times.

His reactions were very intuitive. Ori felt daring like he had the question at the ready. Something that would be impactful.

"You know Ario?" Ori asked.

With Sein flying around them, the ocean did agitate a little. The spirit finally said…

"Yes. I know him. I know the names of all that walk the forest."

"No, that is not what I mean." Ori said. "You do know him much more profoundly, right? Please, if It's is not disrespectful to ask. What is your name?"

The spirit took a deep breath… "My name…" He seemed to recite such words.

"My name still flows with the winds... All thanks to him... For this reason alone, I can wear it proudly one more time."

He makes the same gesture of presentation again. He places one hand on his chest in an elegant bow.

"I am Yali, the elder brother of Ario."

Ori stared in awe. He remembered he had seen his appearance before in a painting while onboard the Zephyr. It became clear as day. If only he had remembered the painting sooner. Alas, it did not matter now as the missing sibling of a friend, was now in front of him. Standing tall and powerful with a different name.

Ori was in a momentaneous trance. Stunned. Unbelieving the words he had heard. After all he had seen in the realm, nothing would be surprising anymore, but not something at this scale.

"Yali? You're Yali… You're Yali!?" Ori felt happier by the second and then a sudden confusion hit him. "Wait… how? Ario said you were traveling?"

"There is still much for you to learn, my child." He said.

"I don't get it! You're my father, you're the Spirit Tree! How… how do you… Ah, nevermind it! We need to get to Ario and share the good news!"

Ori approached the spirit and tried to grab his hand, only to be surprised and realizing he indeed had no physical form. Ori went right through him with the attempt.

"Wait…" Ori tried to touch him again but to no avail. "Why can't I…" He tries to pull him but fails yet again.

"Why can't I touch you!?" Frustration starts to arise.

"Because what you see… is just a memory of what I once was."

"What do you mean? You're here! Please let's go see Ario!"

"And how do you expect us to leave the realm?"

Ori goes silent and sees the surroundings. The unending sight of the ocean did make him unable to answer.

"Let's go slow, shall we? I will tell you everything." Yali calmly said, amused by his curiosity. "Know that by learning my story, you will also learn much about the world of spirits; who I was, how I once lived, and how I am here."

With that final word, Ori felt so curious and also, so sleepy. His vision blurred and his eyelids became so heavy. His mind drifted away and he laid on a bubble of light that enveloped him. He blissfully began sleeping. He closed his eyes unable to resist the urge, shutting down before his will. Sein circles Ori in the bubble and feels rather worried.

"Yali, I wished for him to learn, but isn't that a bit too much? Maybe we could step back about it?"

"He knows my old identity, Sein. I feel Ori has the right to learn one's fate even if the rites are long away to happen again. I will weave a dream so he can see everything closely. I don't know how he may react, but Ori may reconnect me and Ario in one way or another. I wonder how he has been doing… I look forward to hearing his voice again."

"You dummy. You never have lost your identity…" Sein said.

Yali feels melancholic again… He concentrates his light reaching for the stars.

"Without further ado, let us begin."

...


	23. A Reason to Press Forward

At the Realm of Peace, Yali and Sein discuss as Ori was getting ready to witness a story of the long past. Uncomfortable having him sleeping, Sein remained restless. She wished to have a different way to share the story.

"Yali, can you send me to his side in the dream? I don't want to leave him alone there."

"I can assure you, Sein, he is fine. I know that what I want to show may not be pleasant… I… too feel I am exaggerating. But as I said, he learned my name, and by that, he won't be idle."

"Was it a mistake to bring him here?" Sein asked with an air of grief.

"Not at all. There is nothing wrong with sharing knowledge. He's our child, and thus, he has all rights to learn. As all spirits do."

"He is already dreaming as we speak?"

"Not yet." Yali replied and touched the bubble. "I am getting him ready. Right now, he is just sleeping as his consciousness is floating in the void. I will reshape that void and build the world of-"

Yali groans and kneels disturbed. Sein immediately flies closer in concern.

"Yali, what's wrong? Are you feeling weak?"

"Sein… There is something…! Something leeching me!" He exclaimed.

The wisp heard such words and immediately felt his pain and a disturbance in the balance all too sudden. Sein enraged. The realm trembled and the ocean roared. The Decay was still present in Nibel, present in the Spirit Tree.

Yali had just awakened from a horrendous sleep and since he was separated from Sein for a long time, he was vulnerable to corruption. Said corruption was inside the tree's bark, tainting the sap and darkening its leaves.

The parasite in hiding had suddenly begun acting and alerted Yali of its existence. Sein would answer accordingly. She shined determined to eradicate the evil that lies within.

"Hold on, dear. You'll feel a slight heat but everything will be alright."

On the outside, Sein's clone had a worried expression while she was reunited with the others. Naru was the first to ask what was happening but Sein only replied for them to take distance from the Spirit Tree. She would begin a purging ritual to expel the vile fiend from inside out.

Naru and Franz take distance as instructed, but Ario and Daruk were more optimal to take a fight, they did not retreat and braced themselves to face whatever threatened the heart of the forest.

Ori and Layla were brought out of the realm and both returned to Naru and safety. The realm itself isn't safe anymore due to the incoming blast that Sein would create. The overwhelming light charged on the top of the tree and infiltrated the tree's interior to heat the wood from the tallest branch down to the deepest root. Shockwaves of searing air blew through Nibel. The Spirit Tree burned in blue flames, but Sein was extremely meticulous to not allow her flames to harm the tree as she reached everywhere within the tree's trunk. Sein did feel many disturbances, the Decay was indeed nesting inside her tree. The hole of their hiding place was found and the creatures were revealed. Many tadpole-like creatures were biting down the wood like termites. They were too busy draining the life energy of the tree to fuel their growth to notice the flames of Sein approaching. The creatures seemed infants and had only hatched from whatever spawned them.

Such audacity! The flames flicked and shot forward, engulfing many of the fiends before the oldest of the creatures became alert and dodged the flames. It crawled away in a tunnel it had made. Only one remained and Sein shall take no prisoners. The creature would not evade the flames for long, even if it had how to slither away from small and tight gaps on the tree, the flames could reach even further and much faster. The creature leaves the refuge and tries to run away to hide in the forest, it's efforts were fruitless, it left it's hiding place only to be halted by Ario and Daruk. Sein arrives shortly after, getting the creature surrounded.

One pointed the sharpest arrow of light and another had large closed fists to smash; from behind the blue flames of purification stressed the creature out, forcing it to panic and jump in place like a fish out of water.

"Damn you! Damn that cursed owl! You will all die!"

"Speak quickly. You have little time left." Sein spoke in a murderous tone.

"You!" The Decay creature turned to Sein. "You have won nothing! The seed of corruption has already been planted! Cherish your days of peace while sunlight endures! The despicable owl brought you no victory! She only delayed the inevitable!"

"What have you done to my tree?"

The creature laughs hysterically and Sein makes the last warning to get more information, if it would say anything useful was highly unlikely, it would just create more discord, as is their calling.

"The Decay is eternal. We spread. We cleanse. We watch... Count your days and pray that your goddess answers your pleas. Your miserable light will be swallowed by the all-consuming maw! Twilight comes. The dawn of chaos is nigh!"

Sein had enough, she would terminate the creature. Raising one of her flame orbs, she smites down the monster to incinerate it, making the fiend laugh madly again...

"Just like the home of the dark owls… Nibel… won't escape… our… grasp…"

A pile of ashes replaced the creature and was blown away by the winds. Its words were disturbing to a point of ruining their entire day or in Sein's case, their entire chance to relax to appreciate peace. It was ruined, her mood had switched to a pensive and afflicted expression.

"Sein, are you okay?" Ario asked, dismissing his spirit arc.

"Yes, I am… Listen, I have urgent matters to attend to. I must return."

Sein would take flight to quickly return before she was asked to wait. The traveling artist was so worried. Worried about what had happened to the tree.

"Fear not." Sein calmly said. "The Decay had no time to fully infest the tree. Yali is secure, I will aid him to recover from the long slumber he had and any wounds present. Excuse me."

Sein took flight and returned to the giant glowing sun that resides on the top of the Spirit Tree. With the wisp's departure, Ario and Daruk are left staring at the remaining patch of burned grass and reflecting on what doomsday prophecy the creature had spoken. Probably just a bluff, the Decay would have no range of action inside Nibel. Still, could they be in hiding? Awaiting a new opportunity to strike? The chances are slim, but never zero.

"Come Daruk, let us return to the others."

"Sure thing." Daruk replied. "Uuh… Do you think we should take that thing seriously?"

Ario takes a moment. "Don't mind it. Unless you want to go crazy."

They returned with their minds heavy and alarmed… They should not raise worry among themselves so they managed to calm down. Arriving at their spot they previously were, did not allow them to find their friends. Investigating where Naru and others went, Ario found their tracks, analyzed their footprints, and followed them. They walked their path leading to a grove of abundant peach trees, a bridge over a river, and a small hill ahead.

"The tracks lead to this area." Ario commented, glancing at their surroundings. "Pretty grove to live in, maybe this is his home?"

"Hm…" Daruk hummed. "There is plenty of food and all these peach trees have an X mark on them… Also, this river has a handmade bridge. There are clear indices of nearby sapient life forms, plus some wildlife. The wind is also very nice around here."

Ario chuckles. "The wind is nice anywhere for you, friend. I bet If you were in the middle of a hurricane it would be good too."

"Now, that is dangerously interesting, I never felt that type of wind before."

"Jotuns are just too windy friendly, huh?" Ario asked while they walked.

"I mean, we just have an affinity to communicate with them. My kind always had that knowledge from times past. It's like they're also our family."

They proceeded over the small hill and found a small cave ahead. They approach calmly and finally find their friends. Everyone appears and even a gumon.

"Gumo gumo GumO guumo!"

Naru and others take notice. "Oh, welcome to my place! Please come in, make yourselves at home!"

"Excuse us, lady Naru." They entered their home. "Beautiful grove you live in, by the way."

"Aw, no need for that. The Swallows Nest is naturally pretty! I don't know much about gardening, so it's all thanks to the Spirit Tree." She giggles

"I see…" Ario replied low.

The small cave had a pretty illumination from the sunlight and had drawings of Ori and Naru painted on many parts of the walls. It felt so nostalgic for Ario to see drawings like this. The drawing of a kid, with all its imperfection and such passion that made him emotionally rejoice.

"GuMO gumo gumo GUmO!" The gumon speaks and pulls the attention of the visitors.

"A gumon in the flesh!" Ario said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr…"

"Ah, his name is Gumo!" Naru revealed.

"Oh, Mr. Gumo! It's a pleasure meeting you."

"Gumo gumo gumo." Gumo smiles and gives them some space.

Everyone was here. Even Layla and Ori but still sleeping… Daruk almost would not fit in the cave so he decided to stay outside. Franz was chatting with Gumo, but unsuccessfully coping with what he was saying.

"Bro, I can't get what ya saying!"

"Gumo? Gumo guMo. (Are you Nibelian? Your type of colorful feathers are uncommon around here.)"

"Ya know what? I feel ya, bro."

"Gumo, Gumo gumo. (No, I asked if you are from this forest.)"

"Same, bro… Same. I agree with ya. These people don't deserve us."

Gumo facepalms and leaves the bird behind.

"Oi, bro! Don't leave me!"

Everyone was reunited after the sudden event of the Decay, everything went back on track. There was so much to learn about this small family, but Ario decided to give Layla a bit more attention in the meantime. He sits down and lifts her in his arms with a comforting embrace. He looks down at her like a parent that had failed their child. He strokes her cheeks awaiting her awakening.

Ario sighs. "I often mess up, don't I? How many times have I worried about my problems?"

Wondering by himself while the others were befriending each other was a warm sight, one he had not seen in a while. But it was incomplete, two were asleep. How long would slumber? Layla seemed not to have any other health problems and Ori was in the same boat.

"Well, I'll just wait for both of you to wake up then."

Layla suddenly groans and gasps, slowly showing her first reactions after losing her senses. Ario is surprised and aids her to awaken, calling her many times and shaking her gently. One try after the other she opens her eyes to see a blurry mess, getting used to the environmental light and ambient.

"C'mon, Layla, you're almost there!" He snaps his fingers so she could follow the sound and recover her hearing.

She coughs softly, listening to a voice she longed during the abysmal confront of two hurt souls.

"Ario?" She calls, finally being able to see his image and moving her arms slowly.

"I am here. I am here!" He replied tearing up. "I am so sorry for making you go through such an ordeal."

She tears up as well, floating in elation. She guides her hand to his cheek.

"You better be you idiot!" She sobs. "I… I can't believe I can see you again!"

"But you can, whether you like it or not."

"I feared the worst!" She confessed. "I thought-"

Ario interrupts her, placing one finger in front of her mouth.

"Shh, please don't suffer anymore. As you can see, I am here very alive. I am sorry for leaving you alone."

Knowing so well she still had her phobia of being separated from him, he sent her away. Perhaps she could have stayed tranquil if Kuro never had shown up. An accident and a loss from Ario's part, he knew as much. But now, finally reunited, they could work on moving forward. With a long hug, they let out their sorrows. Meanwhile, the others find the scene heart touching and so sincere. Naru and others watch them for a few seconds without making a single comment to allow them to enjoy the moment.

Naru became a little impatient, she wanted Ori awake, and so she started talking to him, sweetly calling him, petting his head with one hand while holding him on the other arm.

"Ori, let's wake uuup~"

Blissfully he slept and showed no signs of waking up. Naru wondered how long he would sleep and her answer finally arrived when Sein, the wisp of Nibel, revealed herself before them in her spirit form.

Sein: "Hello, everyone." She greets the crew and family.

Naru: "Welcome, Sein, It's an honor to receive you in our humble home."

Sein: *Giggles* "No need for that, dear."

Ario: "Hey there. Everything okay?" He asked worriedly.

Sein and Layla wave to each other

Sein: "Yes, it is. The Spirit Tree is now on speedy recovery thanks to all your efforts. As once I promised, I will grant each of you a wish. Come by the tree tomorrow to seize what your hearts desire."

Franz: "OI! I WANNA MY GLOWING FEATHERS!"

Ario: "I see. Thank you, Sein. Is there something we can do for you?"

Franz: "DON'T IGNORE ME!"

Sein: "I wish to correct a tiny little thingy here. Which is Ori's slumber. This sleep is not a normal one, he was induced to sleep deeply to live a dream of the past. But with the problem we had, we changed our plans. Therefore, I am here to simply awake Ori."

Naru: "Thank you again, Sein!"

Sein: "The pleasure is mine."

Gumo: "Gumo... gumo gumo! (Oh… I missed my friend!)"

Franz: "Can anyone understand this fella?"

Daruk: "How rude." He shakes his head.

Franz: "What? Just made a simple question."

Sein: "Crew of the Zephyr, I ask with heart to give Naru some space. A mother deserves all the time with their children after all one had to go through."

Ario: "Understood. Let's go, guys. You too, Layla, you stick with me."

Franz: "Aye sir!"

Daruk: "I am already outside, mind you."

They move out of the cavern and await on the grove talking among themselves. At the same time, Sein does a simple touch on Ori's head, and shortly after he begins to awake.

"Naru, It's all thanks to him that all miracles achieved today were possible. It's all thanks to this little and precious child that a future awaits us." Sein pauses. "A word of advice: cherish what you have as long as time permits. Fate is always incomprehensible. We never know what may happen tomorrow, so cherish it… be happy with them. Protect them… with everything you've got."

Sorrowfully Sein's advice sounded to Naru, like a long old gust of wind that brings with itself history. The moment she gazed back at Ori's awakening, Sein was gone. Naru had not the time to analyze her words with the exception to appreciate her so desired reunification with her son.

Mmmm… I've been sleeping? How long I… My head is so dizzy, so light. Where am I? I slowly open my eyes and see the image of my mom. Mom… I feel so sad so quickly but remember I could just be dreaming… Oh… I am dreaming, aren't I?

"Ori! My love!" Tears poured from her eyes and she hugged me as tight as she could.

I miss her so much. To be within her embrace is just the best. I wished I could relive this moment in the real world...

"Finally I can have you back! I am so sorry. I am so sorry for leaving behind like that."

She is apologizing? Why…?

"Mom…" I speak so weakly, it almost seemed I had awoken from a coma.

"It's me, my love! I am here for you! I am so sorry for leaving you like that!"

She hugs me so tightly for so long I feel asphyxiating. I felt I would not be dreaming…? Is it possible? In a dream I would not feel pain or any types of discomfort, would I? I squeak and push her chest away to give me space to breathe. It feels so real.

"Oh my beloved light, I was crushing you, wasn't I?" She chuckles. "Oh, I couldn't hold myself! Because It's a dream coming true to have you again!"

A dream coming true? I still felt so dizzy but it wouldn't last long. I could glance around, to see my home… My adored home… Everything was mostly like I remember, the ornaments and drawings… The straw of my bed was so old and worn… Mom would always change it for me. Our baskets of fruits were empty, a soothing breeze blew from outside, more than that, I heard my friend's voices too…

"Mom?" I still doubted what was before my eyes, tilting my head slightly. It's similar to the illusion I had in the Misty Woods… but the haze of that place was long gone… Atsu kept his watch… No, Atsu was freed. Oh, I remember that Yali saved him! How am I in my home?

"Yes, It's me, my love. Did you know that I learned your name, Ori?"

My name? I learned my name on that catastrophic night when I had lost my mom. I had no real name before that… Then this is not a memory. I am not in the Misty Woods… How does she know my name?

"Gumo? Gumo guuumoo (Ori? Are you thereereee?)"

Gumo? He is here too? Wait…

"I think I know what will make him awake, probably." Naru said and pulled me closer, guiding my ear to her chest to hear her heartbeats.

Oh! This is indeed very real, no doubts about it. My trance was dispelled, I widened my eyes to the tranquil sound. I am awake… I am awake! It can't be!

"Mom!" I almost freaked out. "Mom, I missed you so much!" I began moving instinctively, trying to hug her and she hugged me.

I could not believe it! This is not a dream! I shed tears of sheer joy with her. I could burst into rapture. Such a moment was unspeakable. But… how…?

"Mom, I saw you that night…!" Tears were rolling down my cheeks.

"I know. I know…" She replied. "That is why I am apologizing. I did a very bad thing and I… was punished for it. But fear not, my love. I am back. I am here to stay." She wiped my tears in vain as more poured from my eyes.

"Oh no, my love. Let's not cry now, please. I am not… strong for this!" She tried her best to keep calm.

"Gumo gumo, GuMo guMo.(About that, I can explain.)"

I changed my focus to Gumo, a friend I had made firstly at the Moon Grotto. It's so good to see him doing well and he is at my home!

"Gumo! Gumo GumO!? (Gumo! How have you been!?)"

Naru is surprised. "You can understand gumon language?"

"I can!" I replied. "My light permits me to recognize and learn the words I hear so I can understand the language!"

"Wow! Then you would be our translator for him?! Awesome!"

Gumo clears his throat and explains everything. I was honestly shocked. He was present at the Forlorn Ruins even when the place crumbled apart. In fact, Gumo was the one who caused the epicenter by removing that small hammer that held the light of the Spirit Tree from its altar. He had made a wild guess when he heard the words of Sein at that time, about how he would live in a new home… together with me and my mother. He took the hammer away, unknowing it would cause such events and gladly he survived.

I was still shocked by the danger he ran. If what Sein and I had to go through, how could that be for him? To walk among the ruined city of his people. To be the last survivor of his species.

That small hammer, suited for building, was still in his possession. He said that the light it had traveled to Naru and as I had learned what the light of the Spirit Tree does, it rejuvenated her. It brought my mother back to life. So that's how! It was a miracle indeed!

I thanked Gumo with all my might. I welcomed him to our small family. Before long, my friends, the Zephyr's crew, came in and I spent a good time with everyone around. I could finally see Layla healthy again. Franz being a dummy as always, Daruk being too well behaved and a windhead. Finally, Ario… I had found his brother... I needed the courage to speak up, but the day soon went out and we arrived in the middle of the afternoon during our festive gathering.

Things are going so well. Everyone was creating new bonds and getting along. My mother began learning how to cook with Layla with a few handmade utensils, a tiny bonfire, and a cauldron. Franz, Gumo, and Daruk were the degustators of her newly made dishes. Safe to say my mom was doing very well, they never had a single complaint! Free food is free food, huh. They were all laughing and enjoying their time.

While I was rejoicing at the sight of this glamourous peace and warmth I noticed Ario taking distance again. These episodes would happen repeatedly on a loop. The moment he would not be in our sights, he goes away to ponder by himself. I wished to make a difference, so I went to him to test my luck.

He was watching the sunset sitting on the edge of a large trunk that was on top of the Swallows Nest's cliff. The view allowed one to see much of Nibel, including the Spirit Tree at the horizon. I approach slowly thinking about how I would start talking.

"Hey, Ori. I see you've learned much." He said, hearing my steps from some distance.

His hearing was as always sharp, he probably could even hear my breathing. Could he hear even my thoughts? The winds howled like they would bring a storm...

By his words, I could figure that he already knows what I have seen? I just guess that I am ignorant of what would be happening. I stop walking and stay silent.

"Come here. Soon the stars will reveal themselves in the night skies." He signalizes to me to approach.

I walk forward and sit by his side. Still, I feel rather lost on what subject I want to talk about…

"I owe you an apology, my guy. As you have seen, Yali is not traveling as I once said."

"You knew all along…" I said. "Yali seemed fairly different for a spirit, I don't understand much about him. He had said that he made the constellation of the dark owl in honor of Kuro. I would love to see it."

Ario rejoiced a little. "Yali loved to watch the stars, he was quite a fanatic about it. We may be able to see it tonight, we just have to wait a little."

I was itching to seek more knowledge but I struggled to begin…

"Ask away, Ori." He noticed my unquiet manners.

"What happened between you two?" I finally asked. "Was Yali a villain for you?"

"Villain? No, he wasn't one. He was my elder brother and my whole world... Do you really wish to know our story? I learned that you would see it with your own eyes but was spared of the dream. It's not harmful to know, but it's also not very heartwarming, as I once warned."

I used a bit of time to think as my ears were long dropping to the situation I was getting into. I don't know, I feel an abyss of guilt and regret on him. He keeps that fearless look and smile to hide so much pain. I wished he could be free from whatever burdened him like that. But what could I do? I am but a simple spirit that knows nothing… I gather air and stuff my chest to demonstrate courage.

"It's okay! I wish to learn, so don't need to hesitate."

Ario laughs at my act of dauntless, I feel happier as it melted a bit of the ice in the atmosphere around us.

"What was that?" He asked laughing. "You don't need to look tough. It's just a simple story I promised to tell you some time already." He sighs deeply. "I will try to be brief. We don't have much time in private to chat, I also don't wish to tell Layla of my past just yet."

"You haven't told her? She deserves to know too." I said back.

"I know. I will tell her eventually. Everything in its due time."

Ario gets pensive while gazing to the last moments of today's sunset.

"It has always been so hard for me to even think about this. I ran away from these memories for so long. But they always come back and I am struck by this remorse. That's why I am always isolating myself. It's funny that I am opening up for the first time in years."

"Everyone notices it, you know." I explained. "Even I can see you were not okay multiple times back on the Zephyr."

"I guess so. I feel one end up lacking subtlety after so many years of stirring these memories. Truly, it's tormenting. It's vexing. I need help, but I can't seem to let go. My brother's fate… was all my fault. It's been so long already..."

He sighs deeply to stay calm among the stress that he is trying to fight against. His past was not normal I deduced… Everyone has their problems after all.

"I had said I wanted to learn about Yali back then and I am not going back on my word. But if that is not comfortable for you, I won't insist."

"Relax, you do good by insisting. It means a lot to me, Ori. I just have to thank you and our friends.

"This is a story of a bond I had with the most caring person that threw their world away for me. It was when…" Ario pauses, clenching his fists a moment and easing up. "When I was his reason to press forward…"

…

The forest of Nibel of years ago was much how we can see it today, blooming with life and shining gloriously day and night. I was one of the last children of the Spirit Tree of that time. I was a lonely spirit. I was born and lived in the wild all by myself and hadn't developed my intellect. I would walk on all fours like a feral creature with only relying on my instincts to survive. It was a daily struggle, I remember… To scavenge the dirt in search of insects and grass to eat. I did not know how to climb trees so the tasty fruits were always out of reach. I was often so cold and often so hungry. But soon fate smiled down at me and we made our first contact.

On that fateful day, a grown-up spirit appeared strangely minding his business very close to my territory. I was scared and angry, I wanted to cast out the individual, fearing he would hurt me. So I made my ever first try to look menacing. I jumped out of the bushes doing the loudest and scariest meowth I could. Ahn… let's say it didn't work.

When I revealed myself to the stranger, which was an elegant spirit wearing a scarf I realized he was not doing some mild objective, but rather… he was looking for me.

"Oh, there you are." The spirit said to me with a relieved smile. "That was a fierce roar, you little rascal. Come, let's meet your new home."

I thrashed and resisted his attempts of approaching me but nothing worked. I was such a small child, I was helpless to fight an adult like him. It was proven that I could not win a direct confrontation but he let me go. He had another plan in mind for me. When I hid back in the woods, I could smell food, smell the seducing aroma of the tasty fruits I always craved. He had set a trail of pieces of them. I was so hungry, I did not waste the chance to feed.

Many tiny pieces of fruits were aligned for me to follow. Barely realizing, I left my small, uncomfortable den behind while enjoying my meal as I swallowed every fruit without even chewing. But then, when the trail ended, I found myself on a dead-end, I did not know how to go back. I felt scared and defenseless.

The same spirit reveals himself before me. This time I realized I was lured into a trap. Lost and cornered, I became prey to a stronger being.

"Would you calm down? I'm not what you think I am." He had said but I did not believe it.

If I was going to die, I desperately fought with everything I had to challenge the aggressor. But honestly speaking, I was unknowingly fighting my salvation. It was an unwinnable fight on my end. Through his persistence, he kept me cornered and I was spent in no time and too exhausted to keep growling. I was defeated.

"Phew, what a fearsome foe you are." He caringly came closer. "A most raging cat!"

He picked me up and wiped much of the dirt that was glued on my fur. He raised me high like I was his greatest achievement.

"So, you're Ario, huh? To me, you'll be known as Ari. Sorry for taking so long to find you." He said, pulling me closer.

For the first time I sensed warmth in the arms of the stranger, I was so weak that I just gave up and made myself comfortable. The light energy he had soothed me so quickly. I fell asleep under that new feeling of comfort.

"Oh my, a fast sleeper." He said as I was nestling on him. "Have a good nap. Leave the rest to me."

What he would do to me never came to my mind, nothing mattered to me as long I could stay protected that way. When I awoke, I was on a comfortable bed and my senses went crazy in the new place I was. I was at his home, but he was nowhere to be seen. I was hungry and craving attention so I slowly but surely crawled around. I called however I could, emitting sharp squeaks praying he could hear me.

The silence was broken when I heard footsteps in rapid succession. The spirit came swiftly dashing and with him a fecund amount of food for both of us.

"Hey, hey." I heard his voice and my ears waggled. "Looking for me? Well, look no more, for I brought you your next meal."

I did not know why he was taking care of me. I desperately was following my instincts to survive all the time, to seek refuge with him. To stay close to my protector. He gently fed me, allowing me to fully discover my sense of taste. It was so magical, I worked very hard to eat the new fruits with my tiny teeth, taking a long time to finish, but gladly he stayed with me for all the time I needed until I was satisfied.

"Good, now that you're full we can focus on some important things of your growth."

He checked every part of my body to see if I had any infections or wounds, ranging to test my hearing, temperature, eyes, and more. I had my first bath and I proved to be healthy and normal. I could almost feel violated but it ended fairly quickly before I could rest again.

I began living together with that mysterious spirit. I had many portions of the day where I would be alone at home and he would come back and always bring new things for me. In no time I grew a little more and I was given access to some essential education, like how to speak and comprehend speech I could hear.

I could see him properly and learn. He was elegant and wise. His name was Yali, a pathfinder and a warrior of the forest.

I learned more every day. I was introduced to Sein and we quickly became friends. I found the wisp to be so pretty and divine, her glow was very powerful. I could see the forest bit by bit with Yali's guidance, I saw new life forms and just appreciated the forest's beauty, that kind of stuff.

Soon enough, I learned the word "brother". The wonderful word that tied me to him, to the one I never wanted to be separated from. I would never know why he would so much for me, but at that time, I simply thanked the skies for this blessing.

His hobby was stargazing. It was incredible how much he liked just to sit down on a high tree and watch the stars. We did it for many nights, I learned a lot about them. Yali had a dream to learn astrology, a science capable of reading the stars to foretell the fate of the world or the living in it. With light-bending, one could create a skyglass, a complex mirror like-object where he would analyze celestial bodies from outer space. I never understood much about it, but unfortunately for him, he never got much far in his dream. Nibel was not optimal to study astrology, resulting in him wishing to travel the world. Hoa would be the perfect place for him to learn, the rich and resourceful libraries there would guide him to his dream. One can find about anything in the vast archives of knowledge, but once again, such a dream was out of range. A warrior had many responsibilities it seemed. He always said that he couldn't leave.

He too used to tell me a lot about the seven forests in general, he told everything he had learned with Sein. I loved to hear him… I wanted these happy moments to last forever.

It was then that Nibel entered a dark age… The Spirit Tree was old on the verge of passing away. It was then… that I learned the world could be cruel. And how it was...

Everything became much more agitated, Yali would always be so insecure and alerted. He had instructed me to never leave our home; our treehouse without him. He had said that the forest was in great peril and dangers would roam the land. I became scared to not have him around. I did not leave home at any cost.

To that cause, Yali taught me to discover a hobby for myself, and what he had shown me was how to draw. Anything he would do was intriguing to me, he always would get me craving to learn something new. Undoubtedly I wished to learn how to draw and Yali gave me all the tools to do so. It occupied my mind while he would be away, I drew and drew on the walls of our home, letting my imagination go wild with a mess of paint mixing.

Said problematic times prolonged for our delight. Things would get worse every day. Yali was necessary out there and I grew impatient, I had less and less time to spend with my brother. When he would finally be home, it was always the same scenario, he was so tired, so worn-out. He would simply tell me: "I am sorry, Ari, maybe next time." And move to rest. He never had the time to see my new drawings, never had the energy to play with me again.

So I started to misbehave. My longing drove me to actions that would not be approved. I just wanted to be with him.

On a new day, I disobeyed my order to stay at home, and recklessly tried to follow my brother's path to be with him. I had so many problems to find clues of what path I wanted to find, if Yali wouldn't be so busy all the time probably he could have taught me already.

At a very young age, Yali had me learn a bit of survivability, how to look for myself, create a bonfire and how to follow tracks, but none of the said training was complete. I also would learn how to conjure a spirit weapon, but that training never happened because of his duty with the forest.

I noticed the soil so dark and dry, the trees were opaque and their trunks not in a shape I remembered. An unpleasant scent filled the air and fog made everything hard to see. The atmosphere was macabre, the days I was in my home I never noticed these changes around, the scent for example never had reached me before. I had realized that maybe Yali had done some kind of security maneuver around our home? Nevertheless, I just focused back on my mission of following my brother.

Gladly, I had found tracks of what seemed hooves, I only deduced a spirit passed recently in the pathways of the withering forest. The fog was stronger and I felt being watched. I was ignorant and not afraid of finding problems, because… I never suffered any type of harm before.

My hearing, as you may know, has been very sharp since that time. I followed sounds that were familiar to me, and one of them was my brother's voice. Before I realized I ended up getting in the sacred ground of spirits, the Spirit Tree itself. I had found him, and to my sight, he was talking to Sein, the wisp of our home, now in a form of a blue sphere. I had asked myself: "what happened to her?" as I listened to them talking.

"Sein, please you've got to do this!" Yali pleaded.

"Dear, it's not as easy as you may suggest. Please… I need more time." Sein answered.

"It can't be helped, can it? This is for the sake of our forest. The threats of the Decay are greater every day, we can't keep holding them back forever."

Decay? I heard such a thing for the first time. What is the Decay? What are they discussing?

"I… I understand. I will make the call at last." Sein said so dispiritedly.

"No, Sein, it will not work. Nobody wants this, you must appoint one and unfortunately, they have to deal with it. If you just ask politely, obviously none will step forward. It may be cruel but it is necessary. You know everyone has their lives and something to protect, everyone does not wish to leave behind what they love. It will fall upon you… to end the life of one for the lives of all."

"I do not wish to end a life, Yali! I cannot force anyone to do such a thing!"

"The Spirit Tree has died for two weeks already. The forest is doomed to wither without it to sustain life. Please, you must do this. It doesn't matter who, you just need one spirit… it too, can be me…"

Sein doesn't reply and flies away to the top of her tree. I could not make much of what they were talking about at that time, but as soon their chat ended Yali was so depressed. My heart ached so much trying to figure what was going in his head. I had never seen him like that.

I approached and he did not notice me until I touched him. He jumps scared in place and yells at me for I had disobeyed him.

"Ari, you should not be here! Why did you leave home!?"

"I miss you!" I explained the reason for my bad manners. "You've been away for too long! I don't want to wait anymore!"

He calmed down to show me a warm smile.

"I'm sorry, Ari. Please hold on just a little longer. Soon everything will be alright and we can play again."

"You promise?" I asked to be ensured.

He took a long moment…

"I promise." He pulled me closer and hugged me as he would always do. He liked giving hugs, the reason I never knew but if that would make him happy, I would always give him one.

He guided me home and right after we went to sleep. The days went on and the situation would not get better. I was stressed about being alone at home for so long. My disobedience arose and once again, I left my home in search of my sibling.

In one interesting point, Yali had taught me the meaning of sibling. In our culture, spirits are all siblings because we are born from the same entity. On one hand, this statement is correct but as I once said back in Forlorn Ruins, we have free will, and we will choose whatever we see fit for ourselves. We will choose our families and friends, and not necessarily see the next as our sibling because we are spirits. A bond is necessary to start any relationship. I had a connection with Yali so we were brothers, but in no way I would call an unknown spirit a sibling in the same way. Love has all kinds and shapes, and with spirits, it is no different.

Moving back to my rebellion, the moment I left home and descended from my tree-house I felt a dreadful aura in the air. The state of the forest was much worse. I was so scared of the unnerving silence and dense fog that I shivered in terror. Darkness was almost impenetrable, not even daylight could disperse it… It was morbid, death and disease were taking over the forest. To walk around the woods was considerably suicidal. Now speaking of a child such as myself doing it, was irrational, but I was stubborn, I dared to venture out again because I was tired of waiting for him to come back. I pressed forward trying to remember the same path I had taken before. I wished to reach the Spirit Tree to see if I could find him, I did not care if I would get grounded. If taking this risk would allow me to be close to him again, I would go through any hell.

This time my hearing couldn't catch a single sound that would not comfort me. There was only the racking silence and disturbing noises I did not recognize. Thanks to the beloved light I managed to find my path to the Spirit Tree safe and sound. However, I did not find him, but Sein descended from the great tree, coming to me.

"Ario, what are you doing here? Did you just traverse the forest by yourself!?" Sein asked, scared.

I was so perplexed to see her as a blue sphere and not as a spirit. In any case, I made up my mind that it was Sein alright.

"Sein, do you know where Yali is?"

"Dear, you shouldn't be walking in the woods at all in these times! Yali instructed you, didn't he?"

Sein had seen how desperate I was to be together with my only family again. I would risk my life for this cause. Be it noble or foolish.

"Ario, my dear, I will summon Yali so he can be with you, but you need to be patient. Right now he is on a mission saving lives across the forest."

"Where is he?!" I asked loudly, almost yelling. Patience was not my strong point at that moment.

"I'm sorry, dear. Please bear with me for a little longer." Sein thinks by herself. "Say, I learned you like drawing, would you show me your skills?"

Sein was a great friend, she knew how to deal with children. While I awaited Yali to return, I drew on the great roots of her tree and allowed myself to enjoy the moment with her. Time passed very fast and while we were at it, I started asking what would be taking him so long.

"It's complicated." Sein replied. "I have a great part to justify your brother's absence when you need him most. I need every warrior available to rescue the lives of those lost in the darkness."

She showed me an inner chamber of the Spirit Tree. Inside, I saw so many spirits and other creatures scared and wounded. It was like a horror scene. Victims seeking refuge, people who had lost their homes were nestled among others of a similar fate.

"All of them need help." Sein spoke. "My mission is to bring light to the heart of these people and our forest. But I… also am guilty of all of our suffering… Yali is an invaluable warrior with the mastery to handle many types of rescues and that's why he is so busy nowadays. With the monsters that roam the forest now, I fear his tasks will only take longer unless I make the ancient rite."

I felt so bad hearing that Yali would only be more occupied…

"What is the ancient rite, Sein?"

There was absolutely no way that Sein could answer that question at that time. She was so disturbed with herself day and night. Disgusted with herself for she did not want to do some kind of ritual that would save our forest. It had a price I had learned, but what would it cost… I had no idea. Yet.

Then he had finally arrived with two spirits on his shoulders. Yali entered the refuge and sighted me right away. He sweats cold by the shock of seeing me running so overjoyed to him. I call him out loud, unable to contain myself.

Sein then takes care of the new survivors he brought, but her light does not heal them fully. I realized she was far too weakened to even heal them. I could slowly see the damage the forest was suffering.

Yali gave me attention, I was expecting to be grounded. I could get slapped, punched, or even yelled at, I would not mind. But he does the unexpected. He hugged me, he was unstable. I could not understand why, but he was crying and it drove me to cry too. I hugged him with everything I had. I… was so oblivious of what he was feeling. What types of terror has he lived so far? What if he had failed rescues before? These types of questions horrified me much later…

In any case, our moment was short-lived, he had asked me to stay at the refuge while he had to go to another mission already. This time he had said he would go to the Black Root Burrows to rescue two children that had their leaves blown inside the unforgiving cavern. I begged for him to stay, I was making so much fuss for everyone to hear. I would hold his scarf to not let him go but… we all know what happened.

I cried so hard like I was betrayed when he had left. My disobedience ordered me to follow him, and so I did. Sein had called me as I dived into the fog.

The same dread filled the air but I reached my objective. Yali was not optimal, he had left his tracks wide visible. I had followed him to the cavern, to the Black Root Burrows, a huge cavern that was concealed by a waterfall. I made my way inside calling him repeatedly.

I was so bold to delve deeper into that cavern. Stress was so high that I could not listen to reason anymore. Slowly but surely… I traversed all the hazards and found Yali in a very dedicated moment.

A fight was about to break out. Yali was wielding his bow against an enormous foe. A dark serpent. I felt an urge to approach, but that serpent froze every movement of mine. Its appearance was terrifying to me, I shivered thinking of what Yali was getting himself into while hiding.

"I just wish to retrieve the two children that are lost in your lair, Salendis! I offer no harm to you or your kind!"

"Liesss. Your light has already caused enough damage. Your light will never be welcomed here! Begone… or die…"

"The light is fading from the forest. You will suffer from the Decay like all others if you retain your arrogance against it. You're not superior in any way!" Yali assumed a fighting stance.

"Oh, I am curiousss to witness the world without that cursed light." Salendis laughed. "Let it fade... "

In a flash, the serpent shots forward but misses the target, eating dirt when Yali gets on top of its nose to fire an arrow directly to its eye. Salendis hisses in pain and slammed itself on the cavern's walls, creating many tremors.

"Enough, Sally! Grant me passage and I will be gone in no time."

"Inssssolent vermin! You will be torn apart for what you've done."

Salendis begins moving quickly and using the darkness of the place to hide. Yali stood quietly with eyes closed, listening very carefully to his foe's movement. He dismisses the bow and summons a giant hammer of light. He prepared himself to do a full horizontal swing with that weapon.

I was so scared watching from a distance… I was almost unable to stay still. Salendis finally did its pounce attack, charging suddenly and meeting that great hammer of light hitting its jaw. A loud clunk was heard and it sent its large body flying with the impact. Salendis surely was defeated after that, it remained motionless on the ground unwillingly to keep fighting.

"I hope you've learned your lesson. The light does not wish to harm you, Sally. I don't care if you dislike us but I hope you can at least grow some respect and manners."

Salendis hissed in agreement, seeing it had its life endangered by a foe it could not beat. But my brother's victory was… jeopardized… I stepped away from hiding and started running to him, my voice was the worst thing Yali could have heard at that moment. Because… I gave him a reason to fear. His eyes widened unbelieving what he was seeing.

"Oh no…" Salendis hissed. "What do we have here?"

The serpent's brute strength was revitalized seeing an opportunity. It broke free and pushed Yali away, swiftly slithering to me to take me as a hostage. I stopped running and was paralyzed with the giant snake aiming for me as I closed my eyes. It happened in an instant, I only had heard the screams of the serpent as Yali grabbed me. I open my eyes and see Salendis with its remaining eye destroyed as I am carried away. It trashed and twitched its large body, suffering from great affliction and slamming itself on everything. We had to retreat so Yali answered accordingly.

He was so focused, he did not reply to me while swiftly running back to the Spirit Tree. We retreat in no time and once there, he lets go of me, kneels, and coughs a lot.

Sein comes shortly after our arrival. "Yali, I am sorry! I couldn't take care-" She interrupts herself.

"Yali, you've been poisoned!" She revealed and circled him searching for the place he was bitten. Salendis' fang managed to scratch him. The venom of a dark serpent is lethal but kills very slowly, Sein informed. She channeled her healing light as he suffered so much. I was shocked and did not know what to do. I was thinking of what I had done as he coughed more and more, groaning and suffering from sudden, involuntary spasms.

Sein's light changes to a greyish tone as audible sobbing could be heard from her.

"I can't…! I don't have enough power!"

"Sein, let's go… to the place." Yali suggested something I did not understand… He then gazed at me with a gentle look and tears flowing down.

"Ari, would you please... give me a hug?" He asked so calmly, almost not minding that I had caused so many problems to him. Almost not minding that I…

I had refused to give him a simple hug under those circumstances. In what a hug would help? I wanted to be punished.

I tried discussing with him, begging for forgiveness while I was long forgiven. Yali never retained a single drop of anger towards me. As the older sibling, he should at least demonstrate he was disappointed. Instead, he smiled like he always would. He could almost make me forget the stress I was for being lonely at home without him.

My world shattered when Sein began taking Yali away. I asked where they would be going and the silence I received forced me to block their path in fury and sorrow, but I was but a small child... I was held back by the other spirits present in the refuge.

I could not follow them as I was pinned down. I trashed and yelled, none of them cared for what I felt. I managed to overpower my captors by the sheer strength of will I had to be back with my only family. I had so many flashbacks of our good and bad days. It was a premonition, I realized much was at stake. I was so, so scared.

I rushed outside and followed the faint steps Yali was doing as he limped to get to a new place together with Sein. I ran and ran, evading others that tried to intercept me from reaching my only family. When I reached them, I saw Yali and Sein together… Sein resting upon his arms... Yali and I saw each other for the last time before he was enveloped by a shell of gleaming light.

Then, it happened. The enormous beam of blue light pierced the skies and blew me away violently. I collided against a solid surface and was knocked out cold. I slept for hours… and when I reawoke, Yali was no longer there. In his place, a small sprout, carrying the light Nibel so needed to heal…

…

The mild winds gusted unrelented, unchanging since the beginning. It was nightfall already as silence fell between the two spirits sitting on the edge of the Swallow's Nest cliff.

"And that marked the last time I saw my sibling. A warrior of impeccable tenacity. A hero. A loving brother…"

"Wait, did Sein transform him into a tree? The Spirit Tree?!"

"Yes. To create a Spirit Tree, the joining of a spirit and wisp must be made. It is the ancient rite I spoke earlier, it has different names around the world but is mostly known as Embracing the Light. It is said to be the greatest honor a spirit can have…"

Ori seemed restless, twitching his ears in a nervous and conflicted manner.

"Are you okay, Ori?" Ario asked.

"I… I am sorry…" Ori said, saddened.

"It's okay. It's been very long anyway. It is a simple memory now. Everything we lived, everything we had… has been reduced to but memories. Or better speaking, at least the memories are one of the things that stay."

"But Sein had told me that the tree had seeds like any other, but just one germinates and grows..." Ori remembered.

"Sein is not wrong." Ario replied. "The seeds… are us. Guardian Spirits have the sacred duty to protect the forests from the Decay. Only one can be chosen to become the new Spirit Tree, and by that, one must leave behind everything to ascend; To become that almighty tree that shines for our sake."

Ori was silent and reflecting. He began to mourn for Yali but was shortly interrupted by Ario petting his head.

"Hey, it is quite harsh, I know. But there is nothing to be sad about. Thanks to Yali, Nibel can prosper and rejuvenate. It is beautiful, isn't it?"

"What happened to you since then?" Ori asked in a disagreeing tone.

Ario takes a moment.

"Forgive me, Ori, but I will tell you no more. After that event, I…" Ario shakes his head. "These memories in special are not yours to know. All you need to know is that I don't retain anger for Yali or Sein and neither should you. They did what was necessary. Sacrifices must be made to ensure that life begins anew."

"But you lost him!" Ori pointed.

"Just physically, my guy. He never was gone, he just changed. His heart beats even to this day. If it weren't for him, you would not be here today."

"Changed? Why did he have to change!?" Ori asked frustrated.

"Everything changes. We must be ready to adapt with it, whether the change is pleasant or not. The winds, interests, landscapes, people, all are subjects of change with time. Yali underwent a great one, but he is still there…"

"But why did nobody volunteer in his place!?"

"As I said, everyone has something to tie themselves to their lives. Nobody is and will be prepared to leave everything behind and inherit such a responsibility. That applies to all of us. Sein made it even harder by not encouraging spirits to honor this duty. As you may have observed, she hesitated to make the call. Time dragged on until one had courage enough to ascend before everything would be lost. Wisps are wise and immortal, who knows what else Sein had to live through thousands of years ago to explain her feelings."

"But…" Ori tried to search for more topics to discuss.

"It is okay, Ori, don't stress about it. It is in the past anyways. As goes a popular saying: When one door closes, so opens another…" Ario pauses, lightly poking Ori in the forehead. "I thank you for your sympathy. Thank you for listening to me. We should head back, the others will get worried."

Ario turns and slowly walks back.

"Are you… feeling better?" Ori asked, dubious of Ario's words.

Ario stops, taking a new moment to think, breathing deeply and gazing at the stars.

"Of course I am." He replied, sounding modest towards such an afflicted past.

"Ario… thank you for telling me. I can't imagine how it must have been... to lose your family and be alone in the world. I lived the same thing. My mom… gave everything to me in the time we had nothing anymore. The forest would not provide us food. The withering and drought made us scared to move to a new place. She did not resist… I became an orphan when the forest was blind."

"I am sorry to hear that, Ori. In a way I fear you had it worse than me… Fortunately, Yali made a new miracle for you. I'm glad you can enjoy a peaceful life now."

"Yeah, he did..." Ori pauses. "Say, do you think Yali can make a miracle for you too?"

Ario doesn't answer...

"I had seen him in that strange realm," Ori continued. "I don't remember when I got out of there. But I spoke about you to him. I actually tried to bring him out too, but it is not possible apparently… He had said that thanks to you, he could carry his name. I feel Yali would be pleased to see you..."

Ario presses his lips and eyelids, frowning and shedding a tear with his head low. Ori takes notice even if he tries to hide it by facing away.

"Are you… feeling better?" Ori asked again, forcing Ario to react.

"I… don't know." He grows unstable and tearing up. "I don't know. I don't know…! I don't know!"

Each word sounded more sorrowful than the last. The bewail atmosphere between them intensified.

"It's been so long. I am exhausted from remembering! I wished I could erase everything. I tried so many times… I tried to…" Ario bites his lips, forcing himself to stop talking.

Ori approaches slowly before him, before a friend in personal distress that was killing him for so long. He gave what he thought he needed: a hug. Without a single word or warning, Ori embraces him. The slight height difference did not matter at all to what Ori wanted to share.

Ario is fairly surprised with his eyes shooting open. He takes just a moment and returns the hug. The memory strikes again, the difficult moment he could not honor the final wish of his older sibling, the wish he had refused to give. Ori was, after all, a part of Yali. Ori is the one he wanted to save at all costs. To preserve a part of a loved one.

A full minute passes and so does another. Time became insignificant. It had a good impact, Ori could observe. Ario calms down, breathing easy and sharing a warm smile. It was just one of the many regrets that eroded his happiness every day. But one less regret in all.

"Oh, beloved light, I am so problematic, aren't I?" Ario laughed, wiping his tears.

"I don't think so." Ori replied as they parted. "It's okay to feel sad. You need not hide it. You can count on me."

Ario chuckles. "Thank you again. I feel better now. I wept too much already. Let's head back and relax before someone arrives. Also, don't tell anybody about what happened here, okay?"

"Alright. Let's go." Ori kindly replied.

They head back while the stars shone in the night skies. Twinkling ever so brightly. Ori went ahead as Ario stopped to stargaze, thinking to himself:

"(Hey, Yali, how are the stars tonight? What secrets do they have to tell? Please, let me hear you one more time…)"

…


End file.
